The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required to be considered for federal financial aid. There is no cost for filing this form. Carnegie Mellon's institutional code is 003242. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students are not required to submit the FAFSA.

When completing the FAFSA, we strongly encourage you to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) if you're able to. Doing so will streamline the financial aid application process for you and your family.

The CSS Profile is required to be considered for Carnegie Mellon institutional financial aid. If you need a fee waiver for the CSS Profile, please call the Office of Admission at 412.268.2082. Carnegie Mellon's institutional code is 2074.

Providing the student Social Security Number (SSN) is critical to correctly matching your file. Please note that if this field is left blank or an incorrect number is entered, your financial aid processing may be delayed.

More questions? Check out our CSS Profile Resource Guide webpage.

For financial aid applicants who don't use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when completing the FAFSA, Carnegie Mellon requires signed parent and student tax returns, W-2s and all related tax schedules to be considered for institutional financial aid. Non-U.S. tax filers must also submit their foreign tax returns and wage statements, along with a translation. All tax documents must be submitted via the College Board IDOC service. If you made an error on the CSS Profile or have extenuating circumstances, please see our Special Circumstances Request form. We'll only review these documents for admitted students or those on the waiting list.

In order to guarantee the privacy of your personal information, the Office of Admission doesn't accept any documents pertaining to financial aid via fax or email and will shred these submissions for your security.

Translated Tax Return

Parents/guardians and students required to file a tax return in a country other than the U.S. must provide a signed copy of the non-U.S. tax form, translated to English and converted to U.S. dollars (USD). We recommend that this process be completed by a tax professional. However, if that would present a financial burden, please contact our office. The form must include the signature of the filer and if applicable, the tax consultant, even if a signature is not required for filing.

Once the translation and conversion have been completed, please use this information to complete a U.S. IRS Form 1040 for the applicable tax year. For students applying for the 2023-24 academic year, the tax year would be 2021. This form must also be signed by the filer and if applicable, the tax consultant. After this entire process has been completed, please upload all documents to the student’s CollegeBoard IDOC service.

Please note that all financial aid documents must be uploaded to the CollegeBoard IDOC service, which is the most secure method of handling these sensitive documents. Any documents sent to our office via email, mail or fax will be immediately deleted/shredded for your privacy.