Navigating Financial Aid at Boston College: A Comprehensive Guide

Planning for college expenses is a crucial part of the application process. Boston College is committed to admitting students based on their academic and personal achievements, regardless of their financial need, and strives to supplement family resources for those who require assistance. This article provides a detailed overview of Boston College's financial aid requirements and application process, offering guidance for prospective students and their families.

Understanding the Cost of Attendance

The "Cost of Attendance" (COA) represents the total amount of money the average student needs to pay, without any financial aid, to attend Boston College. It's essentially the school's sticker price. The cost of attendance includes costs that will appear directly on your bill, such as tuition, fees, housing, and food. It also includes indirect expenses that will not appear on your Boston College bill, such as books and personal and travel expenses.

Application Deadlines

Meeting deadlines is essential for financial aid consideration. Here are the key dates:

Early Decision I: November 1
Early Decision II: January 3
Regular Decision:
- September Admission: February 1
- January Admission: November 1
Transfer:
- September Admission: April 1
- January Admission: November 1
WCAS:
- September Admission: February 1
- January Admission: November 1

The Application Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Apply to Boston College: The application is available online after October 1 through the Common Application. Candidates are required to apply to one of the University's four undergraduate academic divisions: the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Carroll School of Management, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, or Connell School of Nursing. Students are only considered for admission to the division to which they applied. * Because of the limited number of spaces in the entering cohort, HCE major applicants only will have the option to indicate a second major in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences on their application.
- Application Fee: There is an $80 application fee, but students are automatically considered for a fee waiver by the College Board. Note that Boston College does not provide its own fee waivers. If having score reports sent from the College Board or ACT to Boston College presents a financial hardship, applicants should have their high school counselor contact the Office of Undergraduate Admission.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): To apply for federal and/or state aid, you need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), using your FSA ID. The FAFSA will open this fall. Boston College's FAFSA code is 002128. Federal aid includes Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Direct Loans, both subsidized and unsubsidized, Nursing loans, and Work-Study. State aid varies by state.

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- FAFSA Verification: Once the FAFSA is completed, you may be selected by the Federal Processor for Verification, which means you will have to provide additional requirements to verify actual tax data.
- IRS Data Retrieval Tool: The IRS Data Retrieval tool is a feature of the FAFSA that enables the automatic transfer of tax return data from the IRS directly to your online application. It is strongly encouraged that you use this feature if it is available to you.
- As part of federal student aid eligibility, parents, students, and student's spouses will be required to consent and approve sharing and importing income and tax information from the IRS to the FAFSA form, even if the attempt to obtain or use such data is ineffective. In other words, if the student and spouse filed separate 2023 IRS income tax returns, both must provide consent and approval to share and import income and tax information from the IRS.
Complete the CSS Profile: By completing only the FAFSA, Boston College is not able to determine your eligibility for institutional need-based grants. You should complete the CSS Profile with your information. After submitting this data, CSS will determine if you are eligible for a fee waiver.
- Noncustodial Parent's Profile: Yes, your custodial parent should file the FAFSA and the CSS Profile Application, and your noncustodial parent should complete the Noncustodial Parent's Profile.
Submit Required Documents: As a part of our file review process, Boston College requires all financial aid applicants to submit copies of their federal tax returns.
- If you or your parent(s) are not required to file tax returns, an Income Tax Non-filer Verification Form should be submitted.
- 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.
- If your biological parents are divorced, separated, or unmarried living separately, you must submit the Noncustodial Parent’s Statement (NCPS). If a question does not apply, note “N/A” in the space provided. Questions left blank will delay the review of your file.
- File size is limited to 5 MB per document. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and .tiff documents are not acceptable.
- The BC Graduate Enrollment Form and the Graduate and Law Supplement form are now electronic fillable forms. These forms will be directly uploaded to your financial aid file. Students are able to see when the form has been received to their financial aid file in the Agora Portal.

Understanding Financial Aid Components

Financial aid packages at Boston College may include a combination of grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study.

Grants and Scholarships

Grants and scholarships are the most desirable forms of financial aid because they don't need to be repaid. Boston College awards need-based grants and scholarships based on institutional need.

Federal Pell Grants: These are awarded to students demonstrating substantial financial eligibility, based on information submitted on the 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.
Boston College-Sponsored National Merit Awards: The award, in the amount of $1,000, is awarded to seven students each year. Boston College selects eligible students from the first National Merit Scholarship roster only, which is generally received in early March. Students whose names appear on subsequent rosters are not considered.

Loans

Loans are a form of financial aid that must be repaid with interest. It’s generally a bad sign if a school has many students taking out a lot of loans.

Federal Direct Loans: These loans tend to have low interest rates, making them a preferable option. At Boston College, 44% of all students take out federal loans. At Boston College, the average annual federal loan amount is $4633. 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.
Private Loans: The average private loan amount at Boston College is $2850. You may visit bc.edu/altloans for more information regarding private educational loans.

Work-Study

Federal Work-Study is a type of self-help financial aid that is awarded based on financial need. Students may earn up to the amount awarded 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.

Determining Your Net Price

The Net Price is the total cost of attending Boston College minus the total aid given (grants and scholarships). It represents the amount you have to pay out of pocket.

Net Price Calculator: Most schools have an updated Net Price calculator available.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The US government has come up with a standardized way to calculate how much a typical family can afford to pay without help.

Special Circumstances and Appeals

Noncustodial Parent Waiver: 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.
Dependency Status Appeal: 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.
Financial Aid Appeal: You may request a secondary review of your financial aid package at any time due to a change in your family’s circumstances. 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. Financial Aid Appeals are reviewed within ten business days by a committee.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Federal regulations (Sections 668.16(e).668.32(f) and 668.34) require that schools monitor the academic progress of each applicant for federal financial assistance and that the school certify that the applicant is making satisfactory academic progress toward earning his/her degree. This determination of progress must be made at least once a year and before the financial aid office disburses any federal aid funds for the subsequent semester.

Satisfactory Academic Progress requires that students receiving financial aid meet certain benchmarks and guidelines to demonstrate their successful progression towards earning a degree.

Qualitative Standard: The qualitative standard evaluates the quality of a student’s academic work. This is most commonly measured by evaluating a student’s grade point average (GPA). The decimal on GPAs is carried to two places.
Quantitative Standard: The quantitative standard measures the amount of academic work completed by a student on a cumulative basis towards the completion of a program of study within a specified timeframe. This standard expects a student to earn a certain percentage of the credits they attempt within a given year. The formula used to determine your credit attainment is earned credits divided by total scheduled (registered) credits. Federal regulations require undergraduate students to complete their degree within 150% of the specified length of the program.

Other Important Considerations

Off-Campus Living: Students are eligible to receive financial aid if they live off campus. Based on extensive research done by Residential Life and Enrollment Management on local cost of living, it is less expensive to live off campus than on campus. As a result, the amount of financial aid will decrease in the year the student spends off-campus.
Study Abroad: If you study abroad through a Boston College Program or Approved External Program, you will be considered for all of the same need-based grants and loans you would be considered for if you were studying at BC.
Summer Sessions: Federal financial aid for Boston College's summer sessions is limited to Federal Direct loans (Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS), Work-Study, and private educational loans. Graduate students must be enrolled at least half-time for summer in order to be considered for these funds.

Resources and Contact Information

Office of Student Services: This office is your primary point of contact for all financial aid-related inquiries. Students are encouraged to monitor your financial aid status online before contacting Student Services.
Boston College Application Status Portal: As an applicant, you will use your Applicant Status Portal to monitor your application checklist and view your admission decision.
Successful Start Program: Successful Start is a program offered at Boston College to ensure that students are financially literate for their lifetime by offering a series of workshops and seminars, led by Boston College employees and expert guest speakers, related to all aspects of personal financial management.
Disability Services Office: Students who are aware of learning or other disabilities should immediately contact the Disability Services Office so that appropriate accommodations can be made.

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