It’s normal to be intimidated by the prospect of filling out financial aid forms for college. For children of divorced parents, the process can seem ꦜespecially daunting, as they sometimes need to provide information on two households’ finances instead of one. Additionally, a student’s financial aid award (which includes grants and loans) can vary considerably from school to school due to different methods of determining how much divorced parents can afford to pay.

CSS Prof🌠ile vs. FAFSA for Student🌟s Whose Parents Are Divorced

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the financial aid form that every student seeking federal student loans, work-study jobs, grants, or institutional aid needs to complete. Nearly 250 colleges, universities, and scholarship programs require financial aid applicants to complete the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile for the 2025–26 school year.

Many students will find themselves completing both forms and should know that the CSS Profile and the FAFSA treat divorced parents' finances differently when determining financial aid.

As of the 2024–25 school year, the FAFSA considers the finances of the parent who provides most of the student’s financial support instead of the parent with majority custody.

“The CSS Profile form often considers the income and assets of both parents’ households,” says , a financial professional with Barnum Financialജ Group’s Center for College Planning in Stamford, Conn. Because the CSS Profile looks at household income, a stepparent’s income will likely be considered even though that person may have no legal obligation to support the child’s education.

The CSS Profile will calculate a total that both parents must provide, but it “will nꦿot referee as to where the actual family contribution 🐈will come from,” Pearson says.

Many schools that use the CSS Profile require the noncustodial parent to complete the form in addition to the custodial parent. Some institutions may waive this requirement in cases of documented abuse, legal restrictions on contact, or lack of contact or support from the noncustodial parent.

Parents’ Legal Obligations to Pay for College

In about half of U.S. states, courts can require a noncustodial parent to contribute to the cost of their child’s education as part of a divorce settlement. Decisions depend on the facts of each family’s case. Without a court order, parents don't have a legal obligation to pay for their child’s higher education. Still, financial aid awards are typically based on an assumption of parental financial support. In rare cases, unde♓rgraduate students may 🎐be classified as independent students and receive financial aid based solely on their circumstances, not their parents’.

How Divor🐈ced Parents Can Help Their Child Ge🐽t More Financial Aid

Divorced parents can help their child get more financial aid by learning how the schools their child is interested in attending expect each parent to contribute. Avoiding remarriage may also help—but marriage can have financial (and emotional) advantages, not just for the family but also for financial aid. 

Families with enough resources to strategize around financial aid but not enough resources to easily cover college costs may want to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:seek assistance from a finan🍌cial advisor who understands how to help divorced parents navigate the complexities of the FAFSA, the CSS Profile, and institutional aid. More broadly, these professionals can advise you on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:how to fund a college education.

College Financial Planning for Pa♔rents Who Aren’t Yet Divorced

During the divorce process, Pꦆearson says parents are often ignorant of how their decisions will affect their child’s future financial aid prospects. Being sensitive to support issues and speaking to a specialist on this topic can save both parties significant sums and prevent future conflicts.

Pearson says his firm’s experience with families divided by divorce is that divorce heightens the likelihood of financial stress. “We often see parents wanting to send their kids to high-quality, high-cost colleges, maybe when they can’t afford it, because they are feeling some regrets over the pain caused to the child from the divorce,” he says. “College funding should get mor🍬e attention and actual dollars set aside for it during the divorce negotiations.”

Every family’s circumstances are different, and 澳洲幸💦运5官方开奖结果体彩网:divorce can be a financial minefield. Divorcing parents may not wish to willingly submit themselves to a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:binding agreement in arbitration about future support for college, especially when a child is young. However, it may be possible to structure the agreement to account for various uncertainties around the parents’ future finances, college expenses, and the child’s college plans.

The Bottom Line

When a student’s parents ar🍷e divorced, applying for college financial aid beco🅺mes more complicated. Having divorced parents can also mean a lengthier financial aid application process. Preparing to complete the forms far enough in advance to account for the complexities of divorce will help students get the best shot at first-come, first-served financial aid resources.