<p>My understanding is that schools who use the CSS/profile start with the FAFSA EFC and basically add to that amount other assets such as home equity, business values, real estate holdings etc. Is this true? If so is there a standard percentage of these other assets that are applied?</p>
<p>Each institution determines what items in the CSS/Profile are important, and which aren’t. There is no hard and fast rule. Some do publish more information about their specific policies on their websites, others don’t. You really have to investigate each institution separately.</p>
<p>Sorry!</p>
<p>If you go to the College Board website, there’s a calculator that allows you to choose “federal methodology” to estimated the FAFSA EFC or “institutional methodology” to estimate a Profile-generated contribution. It will give you a rough idea of how your assets may be seen. Yes, schools can do what they want with the info but I have found that that calculator was close.</p>
<p>*If so is there a standard percentage of these other assets that are applied? *</p>
<p>They are called multipliers, and their values change from school to school. If you call a school FA office, they may tell you what the values are. I have positive experience with the FA offices.</p>
<p>Some schools also have financial aid calculators on their web sites. By using different asset values and noting the resulting EFCs, it’s possible to figure out the multipliers.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Schools that use CSS/PROFILE also require FAFSA because FAFSA is required for federal aid. Other than for federal aid purposes they don’t necessarily use FAFSA for anything else.</p>
<p>CSS/PROFILE is a college board product. College board also sells software to colleges that crunches CSS/PROFILE data and makes fin aid determinations according to whatever parameters, multipliers, formulas the school cares to configure.</p>