Frequently Asked Questions

• How will the delayed FAFSA processing impact admissions or financial aid decisions?

  Do not worry! Delayed FAFSA submissions will not impact the timing of admissions or financial aid decisions at Harvard. If you are admitted and if you have submitted the CSS Profile and all necessary tax returns to IDOC by our financial aid application deadline, your financial aid decision will be available at the time of admission. As always, if you complete those parts of your financial aid application after the deadline, there is no penalty or reduction in the amount of aid you can receive, but you may experience a delay in receiving your aid decision.

• Is there financial aid available for foreign students?

  Yes, financial aid is available for foreign students on exactly the same basis as for American students. Although foreign students are not eligible for any federal funding, the College has its own job and scholarship money available to foreign students.

• What happens if I miss the financial aid deadline?

  Prospective students who complete the financial aid application by the financial aid deadline will receive their financial aid decisions at the time that admissions decisions are released. If you complete your application after the deadline, there is no penalty or reduction in the amount of aid you can receive, you just may experience a delay in receiving your financial aid decision.

• How can I see what is missing/received and when?

  We are not able to track financial aid application materials for prospective students until they have been admitted. If a student is admitted and indicated they wished to apply for aid, we will let them know at that point what has been received or is missing.

  For current students, you can see what is missing and/or received by logging into my.harvard. We will not begin tracking documents for the next academic year until mid-February before that year starts, at which time we will post which documents are received/missing on your my.harvard.edu portal. Until that point, the documents showing on your my.harvard portal will be those from this current school year.

• How do I apply for aid?

  You can find our financial aid application instructions (which apply to all students, regardless of country of residence or citizenship status) here.