Applying for Aid

Boston College awards need-based financial aid. You are eligible to apply for need-based aid if you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. We do not offer merit financial aid through this office.

How to Apply for Financial Aid

2024–25 FAFSA

The FAFSA form for 24–25 is available. We suggest families begin completing the form to allow ample time for processing. The Department of Education has informed schools that they will not be providing schools access to the FAFSA data until mid-to-late March. We are unable to assist with any specific questions you may have related to your FAFSA until we gain access to this FAFSA data. For more detailed information, please visit our FAFSA Simplification Act page.

   

Priority Filing Dates

  • Early Decision I: November 1
  • Early Decision II: January 3
  • Regular Decision: for Sept. Admission: Feb. 1; for Jan. Admission: Nov. 1
  • Transfer: for Sept. Admission: Apr. 1; for Jan. Admission: Nov. 1
  • WCAS: for Sept. Admission: Feb. 1; for Jan. Admission: Nov. 1

 

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Submitting Your Documents

Submit all financial aid documents using the CollegeBoard's IDOC service.

For more information on using this service, visit pages.collegeboard.org/idoc.


Upload Limitations and Restrictions

  • File size is limited to 9 MB per document. If your document exceeds this size, consider the following:
    • Do not use a camera to create images of the documents
    • Do not attempt to upload color copies
    • Use a lower resolution setting when scanning documents
  • IDOC acceptable upload file types are .pdf, .tiff, and .jpeg format
  • Password-protected documents cannot be accepted

If you experience any issues while attempting to upload your documents, please contact the Office of Student Services at 1-800-294-0294 or at studentservices@bc.edu.

2024–25 FAFSA

The FAFSA form for 24–25 is available. We suggest families begin completing the form to allow ample time for processing. The Department of Education has informed schools that they will not be providing schools access to the FAFSA data until mid-to-late March. We are unable to assist with any specific questions you may have related to your FAFSA until we gain access to this FAFSA data. For more detailed information, please visit our FAFSA Simplification Act page.

The Priority Filing Dates for all items is April 1.

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Submitting Your Documents

Submit all required documents to www.bc.edu/finaidupload.

Please note that it will take 48–72 hours for your documents to be added to your financial aid file.


Please remember to write your assigned Eagle ID Number on every page of all documents you submit. 


Upload Limitations and Restrictions

  • File size is limited to 5 MB per document. If your document exceeds this size, consider the following:
    • Do not use a camera to create images of the documents
    • Do not attempt to upload color copies
    • Use a lower resolution setting when scanning documents
  • Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and .tiff documents are not acceptable. Conversion options are usually available for any file type that is not in an accepted file format.
  • Password-protected documents cannot be accepted

If you experience any issues while attempting to upload your documents, please contact the Office of Student Services at 1-800-294-0294 or at studentservices@bc.edu.


Documents may also be submitted to the following PO address as a secondary option:

Boston College Financial Aid Processing Center
PO Box 1482
Portsmouth, NH 03802   

The Priority Filing Dates for all items is March 1.

Print

 

Submitting Your Documents

Submit all required documents to www.bc.edu/finaidupload.

Please note that it will take 48–72 hours for your documents to be added to your financial aid file.


Please remember to write your assigned Eagle ID Number on every page of all documents you submit. 


Upload Limitations and Restrictions

  • File size is limited to 5 MB per document. If your document exceeds this size, consider the following:
    • Do not use a camera to create images of the documents
    • Do not attempt to upload color copies
    • Use a lower resolution setting when scanning documents
  • Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and .tiff documents are not acceptable. Conversion options are usually available for any file type that is not in an accepted file format.
  • Password-protected documents cannot be accepted

If you experience any issues while attempting to upload your documents, please contact the Office of Student Services at 1-800-294-0294 or at studentservices@bc.edu.


Documents may also be submitted to the following PO address as a secondary option:

Boston College Financial Aid Processing Center
PO Box 1482
Portsmouth, NH 03802   

Priority Filing Dates

For September Enrollment

Submission Deadline

April 1

Award Notification

Late June

For September Enrollment

Submission Deadline

November 1

Award Notification

Mid-December

For September Enrollment

Submission Deadline

January 3

Award Notification

Mid-February

For September Enrollment

Submission Deadline

February 1

Award Notification

Late March

For January Enrollment

Submission Deadline

November 1

Award Notification

Rolling

For September Enrollment

Submission Deadline

April 1 

Award Notification

Rolling

For January Enrollment

Submission Deadline

November 1

Award Notification

Rolling

For September Enrollment

Submission Deadline

February 1

Award Notification

Rolling

For January Enrollment

Submission Deadline

November 1

Award Notification

Rolling

Boston College is committed to providing information in a manner that is accessible to all. If you are in need of a printed copy of the material presented on this web page, please contact the Office of Student Services.

Your Unique Situation

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Divorced or Separated Parents

Boston College believes that the primary responsibility for educational expenses lies with the student and the family. Therefore, both biological parents must submit financial information in order to establish a student’s eligibility for financial aid.

For exact details on what you need to submit, visit www.bc.edu/finaidapp.

If the whereabouts of your noncustodial parent are unknown, or if there are extenuating circumstances regarding your situation, please complete the Noncustodial Parent Waiver Petition. Please provide supporting documentation from a third party. Requests without supporting documentation will not be reviewed. Refusal of your noncustodial parent to provide information or support does not constitute a waiver.

Please note that Boston College will also accept the Noncustodial PROFILE Waiver Request made available to incoming students by the College Board.

All information is kept strictly confidential, unless a signed release is provided authorizing the sharing of information between all parties.

Independent Students

A student is considered federally independent if any of the following apply:

  • 24 years old
  • married
  • serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces
  • a veteran
  • a parent with dependents
  • an emancipated minor
  • homeless
  • assigned a legal guardian before the age of 18

For institutional aid purposes, all undergraduates at Boston College are considered dependent. We will only consider students independent in extreme circumstances. The student should submit a letter appealing dependency status to the Office of Student Services. The appeal letter should outline the student's relationship with his/her parents. We also require a letter from a third-party (counselor, teacher, social worker, lawyer for example) in support of the claim.

Special Circumstances

Our goal is to accurately determine your family’s ability to contribute toward your education and to provide the most appropriate need-based financial aid package; taking into consideration all application materials provided to the financial aid office. You may request a secondary review of your financial aid package at any time due to a change in your family’s circumstances. Information presented in your appeal should be either new information or information that has changed significantly from your initial application materials.

Please submit a detailed letter of explanation regarding your special circumstances, along with the Financial Aid Appeal Form and all other applicable documentation listed on the appeal form, as it pertains to your specific circumstances. Additional documentation may include (but is not limited to): tax returns, paystubs, termination letter, severance letter, death certificate, medical bills, receipts, and information about unemployment compensation, Social Security and/or disability benefits. 

Special Circumstances do include the following:

  • Loss of employment
  • Extraordinary unreimbursed medical expenses
  • One-time income received (from capital gain or distribution, etc.)
  • Death of parent

Special Circumstances do not include the following:

  • Student or parent(s) who does not wish to borrow to cover educational expenses
  • Parent(s) refusal to contribute to educational expenses
  • Parent(s) payment of student loans for older sibling
  • Expenses such as credit card debt, wedding expenses, sports, enrichment activities, etc.

Financial Aid Appeals are reviewed within ten business days by a committee. Additional processing time may be needed if more information is required. If additional financial aid is offered, the student will receive a revised Financial Aid Award Letter. If additional financial aid is not offered, the student and/or parent(s) will receive notification of the appeal denial or postponement (if applicable).

Summer Financial Aid

Financial aid for Boston College's summer sessions is limited. Federal Direct Loans, Pell Grants, and private educational loans are the only sources of funding available for summer enrollment.

To be considered for any Federal financial aid, all students must be at least half-time (6 credits) in a degree program and must have completed Boston College's financial aid application process.

Pell Grant

Federal Pell Grants are awarded to students demonstrating substantial financial eligibility, based on information submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students who were enrolled full time for both fall and spring semester and received their maximum Pell award during the academic year are eligible for an additional Pell Grant in the summer. Eligible students "shall" be awarded up to one and one-half Federal Pell Grants (i.e., 150 percent of the student's scheduled award) during a single award year. The student must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis in the payment period during which the additional Pell Grant funds are received. All Pell Grant funds received must be counted towards the student's overall lifetime eligibility limits. Please contact your financial aid advisor for additional details. Other Federal and state grants are generally not available for summer enrollment. For more information on Federal Pell Grants, visit the Types of Financial Aid web page.

Work-Study

A student interested in Summer Work-Study should complete the Summer Work-Study Application.

Loans

A student may be eligible to borrow the Federal Direct Loan for the summer term if the student did not borrow all of his/her annual loan limit during the prior academic year or will not be borrowing the annual loan limit for the coming academic year due to attendance for only one semester. In addition, a student is eligible to borrow if the summer term is the student's final enrollment period. Students must also be enrolled at least half-time (six credit hours) over the course of both summer sessions to be eligible. For more information on Federal Direct Loans, visit the Types of Financial Aid web page.

Financial Aid Application Status

Students are encouraged to monitor your financial aid status online before contacting Student Services. The following financial aid information is available online:

  • Financial aid application document status
  • Financial aid award status
  • View your financial aid award
  • Adjust your financial aid award
  • Report outside scholarships
  • Financial aid award history

How to Check the Status of Your Financial Aid Application

How to Check Your Financial Aid Award Information