The CSS Profile typically opens Oct. 1 each year for the next academic year, and the FAFSA is typcially available by Dec. 1 for the following academic year.

For an overview of financial aid application deadlines, please select your affiliaiton below to view a timeline of tasks.

• Prospective undergraduate student
• Returning undergraduate student
• Graduate student

Please note: Applying by the deadlines listed on your instructions helps with the timely gathering and processing of your documentation and ensures you'll receive your offer in a timely manner. While it is preferred you meet these deadlines, you can still apply after those date and it will not decrease your eligibility to receive financial aid.

Carnegie Mellon’s FAFSA code is 003242.

Carnegie Mellon’s CSS Profile code is 2074.

You can consult this missing documents reference guide for the documents we are requesting on our website with more information regarding the document and submission.

Eligibility for federal and state aid is determined using the Federal Methodology, a formula established by Congress. Only the FAFSA is required to be considered for federal and state aid.

Eligibility for institutional aid is determined using an Institutional Methodology, and both the FAFSA and CSS Profile are required to be considered for institutional aid. This means that the expected family contribution used for federal and state financial aid will likely differ from the expected family contribution determined by Carnegie Mellon University.

To determine your expected family contribution, we use the information that you and your parent(s) provide on the FAFSA, the CSS Profile and 1040 and W-2 tax forms to determine the amount you and your parent(s) should contribute to your education at Carnegie Mellon. This number is called your Student Aid Index (SAI) on the FAFSA, and includes a direct contribution from income, drawing down on assets, and responsible borrowing.

Your financial need is then determined by calculating the difference between your expected family contribution and the total cost of attendance.

Once we determine your eligibility and financial need, we combine different types of financial support into an offer. Typical financial aid offers include federal, state and institutional grants, loans and work-study. Carnegie Mellon is committed to meeting the demonstrated need of eligible undergraduate students.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) students are not eligible for federal student aid but may be eligible for institutional financial aid. DACA students must complete the CSS Profile but are not required to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). At the time of admission, Carnegie Mellon may request DACA documentation to confirm your status in order to process financial aid accordingly, but no DACA documentation is required when you submit an application. At this time, undocumented students without DACA status are not eligible to apply for financial aid.

Carnegie Mellon offers need-based financial aid to applicants who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents or have DACA status. You are not eligible for Federal Loan programs. You may be eligible for some private loan programs, open to international students who have U.S. co-signers.

This is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please see our Applying for Aid page to learn how to request a noncustodial parent CSS Profile waiver.

Yes, you need to apply for need-based financial aid each year. To do so, you’ll submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile each spring semester.

No, Carnegie Mellon offers need-based financial aid to admitted students.  The School of Drama and Music has some limited institutional funding/endowed funding offered at the discretion of the department to help fulfill programmatic needs.  There is nothing additional that families need to do to apply for consideration for this funding beyond completing the common application and audition process, as well as submitting the required financial aid documents.

Your financial aid package won’t be reduced due to the receipt of outside scholarships unless one of the following occurs:

• Your federal grants, loans and/or work-study plus your outside scholarship exceeds your financial need. In this case, your federal aid will be reduced, beginning with loans.
• Your entire aid offer plus your outside scholarship is greater than the Cost of Attendance. In which case institutional aid will be reduced only after adjusting federal aid.

A Reserve Officer Training Corp - ROTC Scholarship may be available to Carnegie Mellon undergraduates. Students interested in discussing ROTC opportunities are encouraged to contact the Carnegie Mellon Steel City Naval ROTC at 412.268.5109.

Air Force ROTC Scholarships

The Air Force ROTC program offers two, three and three-and-a-half-year scholarships to qualified undergraduate Carnegie Mellon students. Scholarship amounts vary. Carnegie Mellon is a crosstown member of Detachment 730 at the University of Pittsburgh. Completion of the AFROTC program leads to a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

Army ROTC Scholarships

The Army ROTC program offers two, three and four year scholarships based on student merit. Scholarships cover full tuition and fees plus $1,200 per year for books. All contracted students also receive a monthly stipend of $300 to $500 per month. Carnegie Mellon has a company at the Three Rivers Battalion headquartered at the University of Pittsburgh.

Naval-Marine Corps ROTC Scholarships

For information on veteran education benefits, please visit the university's Veterans & Military Community website.

Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA Form, the Financial Aid Direct Data Exchange will transfer contributors' federal tax information from the IRS directly to your FAFSA form. This will replace the existing IRS Data Retrieval Tool. 

Students and contributors (typically parents, for dependent students; and spouses for independent students) will need to create an FSA ID and provide approval for their Federal Tax Information (FTI) to be utilized for their FAFSA to be processed.  Those who don't already have an FSA ID may create one.

Your eligibility for need-based financial aid is determined by using a Congressional formula called Federal Methodology. It uses your parent(s)' and your total taxable and untaxed income, federal taxes paid, current equity in assets that you were required to report on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and size of household and number enrolled in college at least half-time, to determine the amount you are expected to pay toward your education. This amount is called your Student Aid Index (SAI).

Yes. The number of dependent family members enrolled on at least a half-time basis in a degree-seeking or certificate program affects your financial aid eligibility. Please notify us directly in writing if the number in college changes after you have filed your FAFSA and CSS PROFILE. In addition, please update your FAFSA online. We will re-evaluate your eligibility and notify you if your financial aid package changes. Student Financial Aid will verify this information during the fall semester.

Yes. Undergraduate and graduate financial aid packages are based on full-time (36 units or more per semester) enrollment. If you are enrolled part-time and assessed part-time tuition, your financial aid package will be revised to reflect this. You have to be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for financial aid.

In the determination of a student's financial aid eligibility, circumstances such as loss of employment or changes in employment status, parents' divorce or separation, or the death or disability of a parent are considered.

If your custodial parent(s) or you (independent students only, and your spouse if applicable) anticipate a reduction in income of at least 20 percent of your total taxable and untaxed income, we may re-evaluate your financial need. Please contact The HUB for instructions.

You will want to estimate carefully. After the calendar year, we will verify your projection by requesting that you submit your federal tax documents. If your actual information is higher than your projection, we will recalculate your financial aid eligibility and notify you of any adjustments.

Yes. The most common reasons why your financial aid package could change include:

• Increase or decrease in family income
• Change in the number of family members in college
• Change in household size
• Increase in cost of attendance
• Receipt of an outside scholarship
• Unsatisfactory academic progress

You need to apply for financial aid each year because the information used to determine your eligibility may change annually.

The U.S. Department of Education requires colleges to "verify" students applying for aid and selected for federal verification. Carnegie Mellon will ask for confirmation of the data provided on your financial aid applications. We will verify all undergraduate students selected for verification by the Department of Education and any student with inconsistent or conflicting information. The applicant data that must be verified includes: household size, number of family members in college, adjusted gross income, wages, taxes paid and untaxed income.

Yes. To be eligible for federal, state, and institutional financial aid, all students are required to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress toward the completion of a degree. Each university determines its own policy in accordance with federal regulations set forth by the U. S. Department of Education regarding satisfactory progress standards to ensure student success.

Financial aid at Carnegie Mellon University includes federal aid, such as Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study, Federal Direct Loans, and Federal Direct PLUS Loan programs; state grant aid; and Carnegie Mellon institutional aid including grants, loans and scholarships.

Carnegie Mellon evaluates all students for Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress annually, at the end of the spring semester. Students that are included in the review are undergraduates, graduates, both full-time and part-time.

For more information, please see the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy and Procedural Statement on the Financial Aid Policies webpage.

This is a common question that we usually receive in the spring prior to students completing the housing room selection for campus housing. The cost of attendance between a resident and an off-campus student is about a $500 - $600 difference, which addresses 9-month room and board. Most students choose to live off-campus because it is less expensive. Please be aware that you will more than likely be required to sign a lease or rental agreement for 12 months that may require a security deposit or up-front rent prior to move in. You would not be able to obtain any financial aid or refund checks prior to the beginning of the semester to use to help pay for your off-campus expenses. You may also discuss your options with Housing Services.

Carnegie Mellon recognizes that there are times when students may face financial hardships during their academic career - whether it's due to unexpected course-based or academic costs or an emergency situation. In such cases, students are encouraged to reach out to their HUB liaison for support. The HUB liaisons are available to provide individualized counsel to students and families facing difficult financial situations. 

Yes, as a graduate student you can borrow loans to pay for living expenses. We use a standard cost of attendance that includes a standard housing and room allowance.

Congress recently passed laws to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Applying for federal aid will now be easier for students and families as a result of a more streamlined application process and reduced barriers that will expand the Federal Pell Grant to more students. Learn more about the FAFSA Simplification Act.

There are a few key changes that the FAFSA Simplification Act brings to the federal aid application process:

1. The FAFSA will have fewer questions and fewer requirements. The total number of questions has been reduced from 108 to 46.
2. Students, parents, and any other "contributors" must create an FSA ID and provide financial information to the FAFSA. Financial data is transmitted directly from the IRS to the FAFSA.
3. For students with divorced or separated parents, the parent that provides the greatest amount of annual financial support is considered a "contributor".
4. Federal Pell Grant eligibility has been expanded to more students.
5. Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
6. The number of family members in college will no longer be factored into financial aid calculations.

Carnegie Mellon will continue to provide updates on the FAFSA as they become available. You can also view updates directly from Federal Student Aid.

Typically, February 15 is the preferred deadline to submit the FAFSA. However, due to the delay of the FAFSA, we now ask that students and families complete the FAFSA as soon as they are able. Submitting your FAFSA after February 15 will not affect your financial aid eligibility.

The FAFSA is still the required application for all federal student aid eligibility. Submitting the FAFSA after Carnegie Mellon's typical "preferred" deadline of February 15 will not impact your financial aid eligibility. In fact, due to changes in the FAFSA formula, more students will be eligible for Federal Pell Grants.

A "contributor" is anyone required to provide information on a student's FAFSA form. This always includes the student, and for undergraduate students, the student's parents or guardians. It may also include the student's spouse, and the parent's spouse.

In order to invite contributors, like your parents or spouse, to work on your FAFSA, you will need their name, Social Security Number, date of birth, and email address.

You or your parent’s answers on the FAFSA will determine the contributors that are required to provide information on your FAFSA form.

See Federal Student Aid’s infographic to help determine which parent(s) to include on your FAFSA. Please note that dependency status also determines which contributors are needed on the FAFSA.

As in prior years, your answers on the FAFSA will determine if you are a dependent or independent student. Dependency status determines whether or not other contributors will need to provide information on your FAFSA.

Dependent students will usually need their parents to provide information. Independent students will only provide their own information, and if applicable, their spouse’s information. Graduate students are considered independent. Learn more.

Yes; each contributor, including the student and parent(s), must have their own unique phone number or email address for the purpose of Multi-factor Authentication (MFA).

Once invited by the student, the contributor will receive an email informing them that they’ve been identified as a contributor. The contributor will then need to create a StudentAid.gov account, and log into the FAFSA using their FSA ID, account username, and password.

Contributors must provide personal and financial information in their own section of your FAFSA form. Unlike previous versions of the FAFSA, only the contributor will be able to enter their information on the FAFSA form.

All contributors, including the student, must provide consent to have tax data transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. Consent is required regardless of tax filing status, including non-filers and contributors with zero wages.

Previously, contributors were required to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool in order to provide tax information on the FAFSA. Now, once the contributor has provided consent, tax information is automatically transferred from the IRS directly to your FAFSA. 

All required contributors will be prompted to provide consent for the IRS to transfer federal tax information to the FAFSA.

If consent is not provided by all contributors, you will not be eligible for federal financial aid. In previous years, transferring IRS data was optional. It is now required.

If your parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) who provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA. It is not automatically the parent you primarily lived with during the past 12 months.

While the FAFSA does not use non-custodial parent information for federal aid purposes, Carnegie Mellon requests the non-custodial parent profile in situations of divorce/separation (for undergraduates only).

Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Like EFC, SAI is a number that is used to determine how much federal student aid you are eligible to receive.

Unlike EFC, SAI can be a negative number as low as -1,500. All students with an SAI of 0 or below are eligible for the maximum federal Pell Grant. A student with a negative SAI demonstrates more financial need, which can be used to prioritize the distribution of limited funding to students most in need.

An FSA ID is a username and password combination that allows you and any contributors to log into the FAFSA and provide the required information. Each contributor will have their own unique FSA ID. Your FSA ID is your legal signature and should not be created or used by anyone other than you.

No. You can retrieve your existing FSA ID if you’ve had one previously.

In the past, a Social Security Number (SSN) was required to obtain an FSA ID. Now, students, students’ spouses, parents, and stepparents who do not have a Social Security Number can obtain an FSA ID. For more information, please see this infographic from NASFAA (also available in Spanish).

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who had foreign income exempt from taxation (i.e., a foreign earned income exclusion) will be required to manually report the untaxed exclusion amount on their FAFSA form.

For any person who filed a foreign tax return, there is no change regarding how to treat and convert amounts to U.S. dollars on the FAFSA.

We encourage prospective students who are unable to complete the FAFSA due to personal circumstances to reach out directly to the Office of Admission via phone or email.

Enrolled and returning students unable to complete the FAFSA should contact The HUB. 

Learn more.

View information about interest rates.

Once your eligibility has been calculated, you will be sent an offer letter notification email with instructions on how to view your financial aid offer in My Student Aid.

Yes. By using the cost of attendance, you can calculate your estimated loan eligibility. Cost of attendance may vary depending on school/college.

If you previously borrowed a Federal Direct Student Loan, you do not need to complete another MPN for each subsequent academic year.

If you or your parents are planning to borrow a PLUS Loan for the first time, please wait until you have received your financial aid offer to complete this application process. The offer will be necessary to help you determine the amount you need to request. Families should not apply for a PLUS Loan earlier than June 1 since the PLUS Loan requires a credit approval which is only valid for 90 days. View more information about PLUS Loans.

Repayment begins after your one-time grace period six months after you graduate from your degree program or are not enrolled at least half-time.

Yes. The maximum period for which a borrower may receive a deferment is determined in accordance with the Direct Loan Program regulations, and depends on the deferment type. View information about deferments at www.studentaid.gov.

Unless we hear from you directly, we will assume that you are interested in borrowing the amount of the direct loan listed on your financial aid offer and we will originate the loan. If you would like to cancel all or a portion of your federal loan, please complete a Loan Adustment (pdf) form or contact The HUB.

You can use the Department of Education’s loan repayment calculator to estimate what your payments will look like after graduation based on average loan amounts until you become an enrolled student.

Information on your federal loan debt can be accessed via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Note that any private loans you have borrowed will not appear in the NSLDS.

Work-Study earnings do not post to your student account. When subtracting your financial aid from your bill to plan for payment for the semester, please do not factor the Work-Study funds as a credit. In order to use your Work-Study earnings to make payments to your student account, you should sign up for direct deposit in order to have your paychecks deposited into a checking or savings account. Enroll in online banking on Student Information Online to make payments to your student account. 

You can search for Work-Study or Federal Community Service positions on Handshake, Carnegie Mellon's online recruiting system. Within Handshake, you can submit resumes online, sign up for interviews and find contact information for potential employers. Visit the Career & Professional Development website to learn more about finding and applying for Work-Study positions. 

All students interested in participating in Work-Study are responsible for finding and applying for a job. Receiving a Work-Study offer does not guarantee you a job.

Work-Study earnings vary depending on the student's work schedule and availability. Students may work a total of 37.5 hours per week but are not allowed to work during their scheduled class time. International students with F1 or J1 visas are allowed by immigration regulations to work on campus for up to 20 hours per week when school is in session and full during Summer and Winter breaks. 

Work-Study students are paid by the hour on a bi-weekly basis. All students must be paid at least minimum wage of $10.00 per hour. For Federal Work-Study and Federal Community Service jobs, the maximum rate per hour is $13 for undergraduates and $17 for graduate students. 

If you applied for financial aid and are eligible for Work-Study, you will be informed of your Work-Study eligibility in your financial aid offer. You will be notified via email when your offer is ready for viewing on My Student Aid. 

Additional grant funding through the Student Financial Aid Office is not available if you are not eligible for Work-Study. The Undergraduate Research Office supports student research in every field of study and offers the option for students to receive Small Undergraduate Research Grants (SURG). SURG funds may cover research expenses, Summer Fellowships for full-time summer research, and Presentation Awards to support students presenting at academic conferences. View the Undergraduate Research Office website for more information. 

If you did not apply for financial aid or are not eligible for Work-Study, you can still work on campus. If you have the qualifications listed in the job description on Handshake, you may still apply.

To find out if you can use Federal Work-Study earnings to fund research, contact the Undergraduate Research Office. Also, be sure to speak with the academic advisor for the department in which you wish to do research to find out about procedures, and also be sure to speak to your own academic advisor.

Carnegie Mellon has partnered with several non-profit organizations in Pittsburgh. These organizations post their jobs as Federal Community Service positions, and are part of the Federal Work-Study program. Off-campus Federal Community Service jobs are also posted in Handshake. You must have Federal Work-Study in order to apply and be hired for a Federal Community Service job.

Local internships and summer jobs are also listed in Handshake.

A student account invoice is a downloadable PDF document and includes upcoming student account charges and credits.
 
New student account invoices are produced at the end of each month and students (and other authorized bill payers) are notified via email. Carnegie Mellon does not print and mail invoices. 
 
Email notification includes information about the student's billing statement and a link to Student Information Online (SIO), where the student will be able to view the invoice. Students can also view their previous monthly invoices on SIO.

To view the most recent account transactions, select 'Student Account Activity' under the 'Finances' tab in SIO.

Invoices are produced on the last day of the month and are not produced again until the end of the following month. Account charges and credits are applied to student accounts throughout the month and affect the student account balance. The university encourages students to view their 'Student Account Activity' page in SIO to stay informed about their account transactions and balance owed.

A student may authorize a third-party bill payer, such as a parent, guardian or spouse, to receive an email notification, which includes a PDF attachment of the monthly invoice. If students do not give authorization through SIO and do not provide a current and valid third-party email address, then a monthly invoice notification will only be sent to the student's Andrew email account. 

Another way students can authorize a third-party bill payer to view their invoices and account activity, as well as to make payments, is to invite them to use My Plaid Student.

Carnegie Mellon is committed to maintaining the privacy and security of student information. Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, the university may not disclose personally identifiable information from a student’s education records without his or her consent, except in limited circumstances specified by law. View more information.

Students may remove, change and/or update permissions for another bill payer (parent, guardian or spouse) to receive an email with a PDF of the invoice attached or for My Plaid Student by logging into SIO. Under the 'My Info' tab, select 'Manage Family & Friends.'

Yes, if a check or e-check payment made on your student account is returned by the bank, a $20 returned check fee will be assessed to your student account balance. This $20 fee is assessed for each returned check, regardless of the amount of each returned check. You will be notified by email regarding any returned check.

Students may download their student account invoices from SIO and provide their employer with the PDF as this document is considered official. If an employer requires a course schedule, grades, etc., SIO can provide this information to the student in a printable format.

In the event an employer requires student account information that is not on the downloadable invoice, students can complete and submit a Student Account Verification Request form.

Carnegie Mellon has partnered with Flywire and CIBC International Student Pay to create customized payment solutions to facilitate the international payment process for students and families. Both of these services have excellent foreign exchange rates, offer payment tracking via a student dashboard, and are fast and secure.

Please note that Carnegie Mellon does not permit direct wire transfers for student account payments. Among other reasons, direct wire transfers do not identify the student who has made the payment, making them difficult to track and apply to the appropriate student account. Payments made in this manner will likely be returned to the originating bank. In the event a payment is returned to the originating bank, Carnegie Mellon will not assume any responsibility and will not be liable for the payment once it has been returned to the originating bank (as once Carnegie Mellon has returned funds to the originating bank, Carnegie Mellon has no oversight of the funds).

Carnegie Mellon University does not want financial issues to get in the way of student academic progress. The HUB can provide information on financial aid and payment options that are right for our students. 

No. Students do not need to take action if a sponsor or academic department pays bills on their behalf. Sponsors and academic departments will continue to receive and pay the students' bills just as they have in the past. Students who are sponsored by an agency other than their department should view our sponsor billing process to learn more about providing supplemental information to the university for billing purposes.

Students already covered under a health insurance plan must submit a waiver (through SIO) to request that the health insurance charge on their student account be removed. Waivers should be submitted by September 15 each fall. University policy requires students to submit a waiver or apply for health insurance each year that the student is in attendance at CMU. Circumstances, policies, criteria, and benefits may change from year to year, so insurance re-enrollment is required for each coverage year.

View information regarding health insurance and waivers for graduate and doctoral students. 

The Student Accounts Office processes tuition assistance from the military. Please send standard forms to student-accounts@andrew.cmu.edu. 

Students who graduate or withdraw will continue to receive invoices through the fiscal year of their graduation or withdrawal (i.e., through June 30). If a graduated or withdrawn student carries a balance past May in that same fiscal year, or generates a new balance, invoices will continue for two months following payment in full.

We encourage you to use electronic refunding by enrolling in online banking through SIO. It is open to all enrolled students, and allows your student account refund to be deposited into a U.S. checking or savings account.