Tuition & Aid
Boston College is committed to providing access to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds by maximizing affordability and minimizing debt to ensure that admitted students can thrive in the Messina College program.
- The University’s financial aid policy is among the most generous in the nation, and Messina College students will be eligible for institutional financial aid regardless of citizenship status.
- For students with high levels of need, their costs will be met as part of their financial aid package.
Committed to Affordability
Boston College remains committed to making our exceptional education affordable. At Messina College, financial aid will be provided to meet 100% of demonstrated financial aid. This will allow students to make an enrollment decision based on best academic fit versus concern for finances. Qualified financially needy students will receive a combination of grant, loan, and work-study funds to resolve direct costs. Students will also be provided with low cost book options and a free laptop.
What is demonstrated institutional financial need?
Financial aid eligibility is based on a family's demonstrated need. Boston College is committed to meeting your demonstrated need with different forms of financial aid funds. Your demonstrated need is the difference between the cost of attendance and the expected family contribution, as determined by Boston College.
| Cost of Attendance |
| – Family Contribution |
| = Demonstrated Need |
Boston College is dedicated to making a high-quality Jesuit education available to students with limited financial resources. Our financial aid staff will work closely with students and their families to ensure that Messina College is an affordable option.
2024-2025 Billed First Year Costs
(Pending Board approval. Rates are subject to change.)
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive Tuition – Messina College (includes all fees) | $32,000 |
| Housing (11 months) | $12,800 |
| Food (21 meals/week) | $9,800 |
| Total | $54,600 |
Estimate your eligibility for need-based scholarships and anticipate your college costs.
An education at Messina College is more affordable than you think.
Quick Cost Estimator
This tool asks six basic financial questions to give you an early estimated range (Low/Best/High) of the amount your family may need to contribute for one year at Messina College.
For most students, the Best estimate is closest to the amount your family may need to contribute for one year at Messina College.
Types of Aid
Scholarships and Grants
The terms "scholarship" and "grant" are used interchangeably at Boston College. Scholarships are aid that do not need to be repaid. Boston College is unable to provide financial aid to international applicants.
Note: Boston College institutional funding may be reduced if a student is eligible for federal or state grants.
Aid Application Deadlines
December 1
Early Decision
January 16
Priority Consideration
After January 16
Rolling Applications accepted on a space-available basis
How to Apply for Aid
Learn more about the process of applying to Messina College.
The CSS Profile is an online application used by Boston College to award Institutional financial aid.
Boston College's Profile code is 3083
- Available online after October 1
- There is a fee associated with this application. Students are automatically considered for a fee waiver by the College Board. Boston College does not provide fee waivers. For more information on the fee waiver process and eligibility requirements, please visit cssprofile.collegeboard.org/fee-waivers.
- For more information on the CSS profile, please visit https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/ (if parents/guardians are more comfortable reading in Spanish, please visit https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/en-espanol
As a part of our file review process, Boston College requires all financial aid applicants to submit copies of their federal tax returns. Tax information is required from students and both biological/adopted parents.
Submit the following:
- A signed copy of student's 2022 federal or foreign tax return, including all schedules and W-2 statements;
- A signed copy of your parents' 2022 federal or foreign tax return, including all schedules and W-2 statements;
- If your biological/adopted parents are divorced, separated, or unmarried living separately, a signed copy of your noncustodial parent's 2022 federal or foreign tax return, including all schedules and W-2 statements.
If you or your parent(s) are not required to file tax returns, an Income Tax Non-filer Verification Form should be submitted. Forms may be found at www.bc.edu/financialaidforms.
- Copies of 2022 U.S. federal business tax returns (1065, 1120, 1120S) with K-1s and all schedules
- A copy of the business tax return is required for each business owned
- If you, your parent(s), or your noncustodial parent own all or a portion of a farm, please submit the Business/Farm supplement (BFS)
- The BFS must be submitted for each farm owned.
- If a question does not apply, note “N/A” in the space provided. Questions left blank will delay the review of your file.
If your biological parents are divorced, separated, or unmarried living separately, you must submit the Noncustodial Parent’s Profile through the CSS Profile website. Your noncustodial parent must complete every question on the Profile form.
- In addition to the Noncustodial Parent Profile, Boston College also requires the noncustodial parent signed copies of:
- 2022 federal or foreign tax return, including all schedules and W2
- 2022 business tax returns (1065, 1120, 1120S) for all businesses (if applicable)
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. Refusal of your noncustodial parent to provide information or support does not constitute a waiver.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is used by Boston College to determine your federal aid eligibility. This year, the FAFSA will not be available in time for early decision filings. As soon as it is available you will be required to submit it with your application.
Boston College’s school code is 002128.
- Available online December 2023/January 2024
- Allow 2 weeks for processing
If you are unable to file the FAFSA, please contact us.
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 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
- IDOC acceptable upload file types are .pdf, .tiff, and .jpeg format
- Password-protected documents cannot be accepted
Your Unique Situation
PrintDivorced 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Applying for Financial Aid
At Messina College, we are committed to meeting 100 percent of the calculated need of each aid applicant based on information from the FAFSA and CSS Profile. We make this determination using the information you provide on your financial aid application and the supplemental documentation.
For the 24-25 year the FAFSA will not be available until December 2023. Messina College is part of Boston College therefore our federal school code is 002128. Messina college is currently seeking approval to award federal financial aid.
The CSS Profile code is 3083.
Yes. Messina College requires both parents to provide financial information in most cases.
Yes. It is Messina College’s philosophy that the use of parental information is not based on their desire or willingness to pay for higher education. We require parental information even if they will not be helping with college expenses.
The deadlines established for financial aid are in place to ensure that students are able to receive their financial aid award in a timely fashion. If you have missed the deadline then we encourage you to submit the required information as soon as possible.
Yes. Undocumented students, including students who have received deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals process, should apply for financial aid as international students by completing the CSS Profile. The FAFSA is not required. While undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid, students can still receive aid from Messina College.
The Financial Aid Offer
You do not need to do anything to accept your financial aid offer, we assume students will accept the financial aid offered. If you would like to decline or reduce the amount of anything provided, please email the financial aid team.
Financial aid consists of grants, scholarships and loan funds. At Messina College, we want to ensure that borrowing is kept to a minimum, so students are offered an amount below the yearly federal maximum loan of $3,500.
No. Loans are considered a form of financial aid, and for some, are necessary to make college financing affordable. If you have other resources, or just do not wish to assume loan debt you can cancel your loan, please email your financial aid counselor.
Please note that if you decline the loan it will not result in increased Messina College grant funding.
Federal Work-Study is a type of self-help financial aid that is offered based on financial need. Students may earn up to the amount indicated through their work-study position. It is important to note that funds earned from a work-study position are paid directly to the student and do not reduce the student account bill.
Work-study positions are typically posted just before the start of the fall semester. Students can search the job database through the Student Services Student Employment web page at bc.edu/studentemployment.
The Boston College financial aid team uses a rigorous and holistic approach to accurately determine a student’s financial need and provides a financial aid offer that best reflects the information submitted in the financial aid application. Your financial aid is based on a careful review of the CSS PROFILE and FAFSA applications, along with all the tax return documentation provided through IDOC. If there has been no change in your circumstances since you filed your initial application, unfortunately, we are unable to accept an appeal.
If you have or will experienced a financial aid change since completing the aid process, please reach out to your financial aid counselor via email to share you updated circumstances.
If we are unable to accept an appeal, there may be additional financing options available to your student:
- Additional Student loan eligibility
- Parent Plus Loan / Alternative Loans
- Payment Plan
It is our policy to meet every student’s full demonstrated need each year. Amounts may vary from year to year, based on changes in a family's financial circumstances and the Messina College cost of attendance.
General/Miscellaneous questions
All students are encouraged to seek outside scholarships to help with the cost of their education. To ensure the outside scholarship will benefit the student as much as possible, it is our policy to first replace the loan and work-study portion of the student’s BC financial aid package; however, total grant funding (including outside scholarships) cannot exceed the student's total demonstrated institutional need. If the amount of outside scholarship received exceeds the amount of loan and work-study, then the student’s BC grant funds are reduced to meet their demonstrated institutional need.