CSS Profile - Other Parent Account confusion with divorced parents

We used the Other Parent Account feature last year and it worked fine for KEEPING THINGS SEPARATE. But colleges definitely got confused about some stuff. One school kept emailing my daughter asking why her "father's information was missing" even though he HAD submitted everything through his separate account! Took like 5 phone calls to straighten out. The system is designed to make divorced parents hate each other even more I swear.

I work in a college financial aid office, and I can share some insight on the CSS Profile's Other Parent Account functionality. This feature was specifically designed for divorced/separated parents who need to maintain financial privacy while still fulfilling aid requirements. When used correctly, each parent submits their portion independently without seeing the other's information. However, there are some important things to know: 1. Both parents must complete their sections by the school's deadline 2. The student should list all schools on their application 3. Each parent must pay a separate processing fee 4. Some colleges may require additional documentation The most common issue we see is when one parent doesn't complete their portion, which can delay the entire financial aid package. Communication between all parties is key, even if it's just about submission timelines rather than financial details.

Both parents should submit to all the same schools the student is applying to. If you only submit to some schools but not others, those schools will likely flag the application as incomplete. This can delay financial aid decisions or even result in reduced aid offers. While I understand the desire to save on fees, it could potentially cost much more in lost aid opportunities.

My ex and I used the Other Parent Account feature for our twins last year. Here's what worked for us: 1. We communicated clearly about WHICH schools each child was applying to 2. We set calendar reminders for submission deadlines 3. We both confirmed with each other when we submitted our portions 4. We had our kids email each financial aid office confirming both parents submitted separately That last step was crucial - it prevented the confusion others mentioned. Only one school got confused and sent us a "missing information" notice, but it was resolved with a quick phone call. The CSS Profile is designed to handle divorced parents using separate accounts. Don't stress about it causing problems as long as you both complete everything on time.

i tried calling CSS Profile customer service about this exact question last week and was on hold for TWO HOURS before getting disconnected!!! so frustrating. has anyone found a better way to reach them? their website FAQ doesn't really answer the nuances of this question.

we used separate accounts last yr and it was fine mostly except my ex didn't submit till last minute and almost missed deadline for one school lol. just make sure u both know when things are due!

To answer your follow-up about selective schools - in my experience, the more selective schools actually handled the separate accounts more efficiently. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton had clearly dealt with this situation many times before. The smaller liberal arts colleges seemed less familiar with the process and required more follow-up. One specific tip: Make sure both parents use the EXACT same spelling of the student's name and the same home address for the student. Even minor differences can cause their system to not link the accounts properly.

Another thing nobody mentioned - if either parent has REMARRIED, the new spouse's financial info has to be included on the CSS Profile too! My daughter's aid got messed up because my ex's new wife's income wasn't included at first. Such an invasion of privacy for everyone involved!

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I talked to my ex and we have a plan now - we'll both submit to all schools, confirm when we've each completed our portions, and have our daughter email the financial aid offices to let them know we used separate accounts. And I'll double-check about the stepparent information since we're both remarried. This community has been so helpful!

Just wanted to add one more tip that saved us a lot of headaches - create a shared Google Doc or spreadsheet with your ex that lists all the schools, their CSS Profile deadlines, and checkboxes for when each parent has submitted. We didn't share any financial details, just tracked completion status. It eliminated the "did you submit to X school yet?" texts and made sure we were both on the same page. Also helped us catch that one school had an earlier priority deadline that we almost missed!

As someone who went through this process two years ago with my ex-husband, I can confirm the Other Parent Account feature works well when both parties are organized. A few additional tips from our experience: 1) Screenshot your submission confirmation pages - colleges sometimes claim they never received info even when you have proof of submission, 2) If your ex is unreliable with deadlines, consider offering to pay their CSS fees in exchange for them submitting early (saved my sanity!), 3) Some schools will email both parents separately about missing info, so don't panic if you get a notification about something your ex was supposed to handle. The separate accounts really do protect your financial privacy while meeting college requirements. Good luck with the applications!

I'm just starting this process with my ex for our son's college applications and reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! One question I haven't seen addressed - if we use the Other Parent Account feature, do we both need to create our accounts at the same time, or can one parent start the process and the other join later? I'm worried about timing issues since my ex travels a lot for work and might not be available right when I want to get started. Also, has anyone dealt with situations where one parent lives in a different state? I'm wondering if that adds any complications to the CSS Profile process.

Just went through this exact situation last year with my daughter's applications! The Other Parent Account feature definitely works for keeping financial info separate, but here's what I wish someone had told me upfront: make sure you BOTH understand that you're essentially creating two completely separate CSS Profile applications that the colleges have to manually link together. The biggest issue we ran into was that some schools' financial aid offices weren't immediately aware that we had used separate accounts, so they kept sending "incomplete application" notices to my daughter. What saved us was being proactive - I called each school's financial aid office about a week after we both submitted and specifically told them "Both parents have submitted separate CSS Profiles using the Other Parent Account feature, please confirm you have both submissions linked to [daughter's name] application." Most schools said "Oh yes, we see both now, thanks for letting us know!" One school actually hadn't linked them properly and was able to fix it right away because of my call. Would definitely recommend this proactive approach rather than waiting for problems to surface later when deadlines are looming. Also, the fees do add up quickly when you're both paying for multiple schools, but the peace of mind of keeping finances separate was worth it for us. Good luck!