Help with getting a CSS profile fee waiver

<p>I am filing out the CSS (College Scholarship Service) profile, and, according to this document, professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/PROFILE_fees.pdf. I think I should be qualified for the fee waiver. My parents are separated, and I live with my father, who has zero income and is currently unemployed. But, Collegeboard indicates that I still have to pay $89 for the CSS profile total payment. I am really unable to pay for this amount of money. What should I do or what should I review on the CSS profile to apply for a fee waiver? Would I need to apply for a fee waiver at the colleges I am applying to or at my high school? Please help me on how to get a fee waiver for CSS profile. Thanks.</p>

<p>Search around the collegeboard site a bit. There must be a page about how to get a waiver. Please consider that if paying a very small amount of money for the chance at financial aid is difficult, you may be applying to schools that are going to be near impossible for you to afford. Yes, the schools have a lot of money to give, but other expenses will come up during college that financial aid does not cover. How will you afford all the unexpected expenses, if $89 is tough for you?</p>

<p>Doesn’t the Profile application calculate the applicant’s eligibility for a fee waiver automatically? Or am I mistaken about that?</p>

<p>THe profile calculates the student’s eligibility for a waiver automatically once you click the submit button. If Op was charged a fee, s/he is not eligible for a waiver. There is no appeal process and Op will have to pay the fee.</p>

<p>I am having this problem today as well, I am expected to pay $57 when my mother and I (the ones on the form) made around $6000 last year combined. This is kind of a difficult system…</p>

<p>If I remember correctly, they do waive your first 6 schools if you make under a certain amount. How many schools are you applying to?</p>

<p>@iluvbooks94, I am applying to five schools, all with On Campus housing code. I really can’t pay the $9 for the base fee and $16 per college.</p>

<p>So, does anyone know of a way to contact collegeboard to request for a CSS waiver?</p>

<p>OP</p>

<p>Please excuse the silly question, but thats not $89/profile is it? Or is that for all the schools in which you are applying to?</p>

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<p>It’s already been explained to you (see post #4 above) that your eligibility for a waiver is calculated automatically when you fill in the profile. Here is what’s stated in the student guide for the CSS/Profile:</p>

<p>“A limited number of fee waivers are granted automatically — based on the information entered on the PROFILE application — to students who are first-time college applicants and are from families with very low incomes and assets. International students are not eligible for fee waivers. This waiver covers the application fee and the reporting fees for up to six colleges or scholarship programs.”</p>

<p>If you think you should be eligible, then you might have made a mistake somewhere in completing the profile. Go back and double-check it.</p>

<p>If you want to call College Board, their phone number is on their website. (Go to the website, click on “contact,” and then scroll down until you find the specific telephone number for CSS.) Or call the financial aid office of one of your colleges and ask for help.</p>

<p>Make sure you answer the question about receiving free/reduced lunches with a yes if you did in fact receive them.</p>