Applying for Aid

The basic premise of financial aid is that the primary responsibility for meeting college costs rests with the student and his or her parents, to the extent they are able to pay. The difference between the cost of attendance at the institution and the calculated ability of a family to meet this cost is defined as a student’s “demonstrated financial need.” A family’s ability to meet the cost of attendance is determined from an in-depth assessment of the information reported on the CSS Profile^® and FAFSA^®. Financial need is determined according to a set of standards and principles developed by the College Board and a consistent analysis of financial aid application data.

Applicants for admission indicate on their admission application whether they wish to be considered for Wake Forest need-based scholarships during their undergraduate career at Wake Forest.

This process ensures that all available scholarship funds are fully allocated to enrolling students and that the need-based loan portion of aid packages remains minimal.

For admission applicants who indicate on their admission application that they wish to be considered for Wake Forest need-based scholarships and who meet the financial aid application priority filing dates, Wake Forest will meet 100% of demonstrated financial need with a combination of scholarships, grants, loans (borrowed money that must be repaid with interest), and work-study (money students earn from jobs to help pay for educational expenses).

Students whose families experience a significant change after admission may submit an appeal describing the change and requesting consideration for Wake Forest need-based scholarship assistance by emailing to finaid@wfu.edu. Requests are reviewed by enrollment division leadership team members and determinations include the constraints of available scholarship funding.

Since income is only one factor that is taken into consideration in determining eligibility for financial aid, there is no income cutoff. In addition to income, we take into consideration many factors, including parent and student assets, family size, tax liability, the number of students in college, home equity, medical and educational expenses, business investments, rental property, and summer student earnings. The only way to determine eligibility for financial aid is to submit an application. Approximately 40% of full-time undergraduates demonstrate financial need.

The Net Price Calculator provides an estimate of financial aid and the expected family contribution to educational costs. These estimates may not be accurate for families with complicated financial situations or extenuating family circumstances.

Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, Wake Forest considers all undergraduate students to be dependent on parents for institutional financial aid purposes, even though some students may meet the federal definition of “independence.” A student may not declare independence during his or her undergraduate years due to attainment of legal age, internal family arrangements, marriage, parenthood, or family disagreements.

Wake Forest is committed to using the Principles & Standards of the College Cost Transparency Initiative in its aid notifications.

Early Decision I and Early Action Admission applicants who complete their financial aid applications by November 15 should receive an aid notification starting December 15.

Early Decision II Admission applicants who complete their financial aid applications by January 1 should receive an aid notification within three weeks of application completion.

Regular Decision Admission applicants who complete their financial aid applications by January 1 should receive an aid notification in early April, approximately three to four weeks before the May 1 enrollment decision date.

Any substantive changes in a family’s financial situation should be reported immediately in writing to the Office of Student Financial Aid. Examples of such changes are a significant decrease in income, unusual medical expenses, or a change in parents’ marital status. The Financial Aid Committee will review the request for reconsideration to determine if an adjustment is warranted.

If your financial need is based on two or more children in college at the same time, and the sibling later graduates or is no longer enrolled in undergraduate college, then your eligibility for need-based scholarships and grants may be significantly reduced. The more financial resources your parents have, the greater the impact will be. Siblings enrolled in graduate or professional schools are not considered in determining institutional aid eligibility.

Students classified as international students by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions are not eligible to receive need-based aid. However, international students with exceptional academic and leadership credentials should consider applying for merit scholarships.

International students interested in campus or community employment opportunities should review the student employment section of the web site. If there are questions about working on campus, international students may contact the Student Employment Supervisor in the Office of Student Financial Aid.

Students interested in borrowing to help pay for college, who can enlist a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to co-sign a loan promissory note, should refer to the information on the eduPASS website.

All students applying for federal financial aid are required to complete the FAFSA^® each year. All students applying for Wake Forest need-based scholarships are required to complete the CSS Profile^®. While the CSS Profile^® is not required if only applying for federal financial aid, to be considered for all available sources of financial aid, students should complete both applications. In addition, parents and students must submit signed copies of prior-prior year federal income tax returns (including all schedules, W-2 wage statements, partnership tax returns and schedules, and S corporation tax returns and schedules). If either the student or parent did not file a tax return, please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to obtain a non-tax return filer form.

Yes. Wake Forest’s policy for determining financial need is based on the principle that both parents have a responsibility to contribute to the costs of education. In cases where the student’s legal biological/adoptive parents are separated or divorced, financial information from both legal biological/adoptive parents’ households is needed to determine eligibility for institutional need-based scholarships. The legal biological/adoptive parent who provides the greater portion of the student’s financial support and that parent’s current spouse/partner (if applicable) (aka, “the FAFSA^® parent(s)“) should complete the CSS Profile^® and FAFSA^® applications. The legal biological/adoptive parent who provides the lesser portion of the student’s financial support and that parent’s current spouse/partner (if applicable) should then follow instructions to complete the CSS Profile^®. Both parents and stepparents are required to submit copies of W-2 wage statements and income tax returns, including all schedules, to verify reported income.

The FAFSA^® application is available at http://www.fafsa.gov. The FAFSA^® school code for Wake Forest is 002978.

The CSS Profile^® application may be accessed on the CSS Profile website. The CSS Profile^® school code for Wake Forest is 5885.

The CSS Profile^® is used to determine eligibility for institutional funds, while the FAFSA^® is used to determine eligibility for federal aid. There are variations in the way the two applications gather information and evaluate criteria to determine need. The CSS Profile^® was developed by the College Scholarship Service of the College Board and is the primary tool used by many private institutions to determine the expected family share of costs for education.

In estimating a family’s ability to pay educational expenses, the CSS Profile^® provides information to help inform Wake Forest’s version of what is known as institutional methodology (IM). Wake Forest uses CSS Profile^® information is used to help to determine need-based funding from the resources of the institution.

The FAFSA^® follows federal methodology (FM) and is used solely to determine eligibility for federal aid, including Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Direct Loans, and Federal Work-Study jobs.

There are many differences between IM and FM, both in a philosophical and practical approach. Philosophically, IM attempts to determine a family’s capacity to pay for their student’s higher education costs through an examination of the family’s financial resources within the context of the family structure. FM determines eligibility for federal student aid programs, with a focus on Federal Pell Grant eligibility. As a result, FM strives to reduce application barriers for low-income families whereas IM focuses on fairly and consistently assessing families at all income levels.

Both applications are necessary to establish eligibility for all available sources of financial aid.

Incoming first-year students should submit the CSS Profile^® and FAFSA^®* between October 1 and November 15 (Early Decision I and Early Action), or between October 1 and January 1 (Regular Decision and Early Decision II). All income tax documents must be submitted to CSS IDOC by November 15 (Early Decision) or January 1 (Regular Decision and Early Decision II). Students who meet these priority filing dates should receive notification of eligibility for financial aid starting December 15 (Early Decision I and Early Action), February 15 (Early Decision II), or April 1 (Regular Decision).

(*Special Note for 2024-25 only: The 2024-25 FAFSA^® was not available until late December 2023. Therefore, Early Decision I and Early Action admission applicants should complete and submit the CSS Profile^® and CSS IDOC processes only, in order to receive a notification of estimated eligibility for financial aid starting December 15.)

Continuing and transfer students should complete the CSS Profile^® and FAFSA^® by March 1, and submit all tax documents to CSS IDOC by March 5. Continuing and transfer students who meet the March 1 priority filing date will be notified of financial aid eligibility in early July.

Yes. Students and families use prior-prior year tax returns to complete both applications.

Financial aid eligibility determinations cannot be made until all necessary documentation is received. Since financial aid eligibility may determine a student’s ability to attend Wake Forest, all students are encouraged to meet the priority filing dates. By submitting the materials by the priority filing dates, students maximize their chances to be considered for the full range of gift aid, including a variety of need-based scholarships.

Yes. All returning students must reapply for aid each year by submitting the FAFSA^® (for federal aid) and the CSS Profile^® (for Wake Forest need-based aid) by March 1, and sending all required US income tax documents to CSS IDOC by March 5.

If you are only applying for federal financial aid funds, then you do not have to complete the CSS Profile^®.

The total dollar amount of financial aid eligibility is based on financial need. Any change in family circumstances, such as an increase or decrease in parents’ or student’s income, assets, family size, or number of family members attending college, may affect eligibility for financial aid. If the family’s circumstances do not change significantly over four years, the financial aid package should be comparable each year.