Frequently Asked Questions

For tuition and fee expenses please visit the Student Accounts website or contact your Student Account Counselor in the Office of Student Accounts at +1-508-421-3801.

New students: Can review financial aid application deadlines and requirements here, Applying for Financial Aid first year students.

Returning Students: the Clark Application, FAFSA, and any other requested materials are due in our office by March 15. These forms can be found on our website.

You may be required to submit additional forms and/or provide additional information before your award can be determined. New Students will be notified via their admissions portal or e-mail, returning students will need to review their CUWEB portal. In both cases, please notify your parent or guardian of the information needed, as soon as possible.

The FAFSA code is 002139; the campus code is 00. The CSS Profile code is 3279

No. Your non-custodial parent is not required to complete the College Board’s Non-Custodial Profile.

Unless it is specifically requested by our office, the Business/Farm Addendum is not required for returning students.

If you apply for financial aid after the deadline, you may still be eligible for federal funds. Clark and state funds, however, are very limited. Filing late may affect your eligibility for these funds.

Application’s for financial aid are reviewed when all the completed requested materials have been received. Students can review their CUWEB portal to determine what our office needs to review your request for financial aid. The student is notified what is required to be remitted to our office for consideration of financial aid and is responsible for advising the parent or guardian what is needed. Applications completed after the deadline are subject to delay in awarding and can incur irreversible late-fee charges on their bills.

Providing all requested documents have been received by our office by the established deadlines, returning students should receive notification their awards have been posted to their CUWEB portal no later than the end of June. Fall bills are due in July and Spring bills are due in December. Applications completed after the deadline are subject to delay in awarding and can incur irreversible late-fee charges on their bills

The expected family contribution (EFC) is an estimate of how much of your educational expenses you (and/or your family) are expected to absorb. The family contribution is not the bottom line bill, or a prediction of how much cash you actually have on hand; neither is it a value judgment about how much your family ought to have available from their current income, or a measure of your liquidity. Rather, it is an estimate of your capacity over time to absorb some of the cost of education. The EFC generally expects a strong financial commitment on the part of the student proportional to his/her income. We estimate how much you can be expected to contribute (relative to other students), but make no assumptions about how you will finance that contribution. In fact, you have choices about how to do that and Clark’s Office of Financial Assistance can assist you by suggesting a variety of programs of payment plans and student loans. You can review options on our web page.

Clark University is committed to the renewal of financial aid for applicants who received aid as entering students. Aid will be renewed upon receipt and review of a complete and timely application. The amount of aid will vary with the applicant’s eligibility and the availability of funds. Eligibility varies with the changes in a family’s income, assets, and number of family members enrolled in at least half time basis in undergraduate school.

Consumer debt such as car loans, credit card bills and educational debt do not have any bearing on your financial aid award.

Under both federal and institutional guidelines, parents in college are not counted as family members enrolled in college.

Dependent siblings under the age of 24 studying in an undergraduate degree-granting program at an accredited college or university will be counted as family members in college for both federal and institutional aid calculations. Siblings enrolled in a graduate degree program at an accredited college or university will be counted as family members in college for federal calculations but not institutional aid calculations.

Yes. Students receiving financial aid of any type (including parent loans and most private educational loans) are expected to remain in good academic standing and are required to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward their degree. Satisfactory academic progress is defined by regulations of the U.S. Department of Education as “proceeding in a positive manner toward fulfilling requirements.”  Full-time bachelor’s degree candidates must maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average each year. In addition, students must successfully complete at least five courses their first year; six courses their second year; and seven courses each year thereafter. Full-time undergraduate students receiving financial aid have a maximum of six years to complete a four-year degree program. Evaluation of satisfactory academic progress is made each year, following two consecutive terms of enrollment. Students who are not making progress are no longer eligible for financial assistance through either federal, state or institutional funds. Additionally, we are not able to certify any private educational loans that require Satisfactory Academic Progress for certification. Students are able to submit an appeal to the Director of Financial Aid, and if it is granted the student will be placed on one semester of financial aid probation.

Your dependency status determines whose information must be reported on the FAFSA ®

You can review information about the different criteria that needs to be satisfied to be considered independent here:  FSA Dependency Status

Yes. Students who have not been awarded federal work-study funds may still work on campus. Note earnings from on campus employment or federal-work study awards are not deducted from the bill. Review the FAQ on the Student Employment web page.

An award of work-study is an opportunity for you to obtain an on-campus job. All available jobs are posted on the job directory. You apply for positions that interest you and fit your class schedule. You will receive a pay check for the hours you work. Work-study is not deducted from the bill. Students who are offered work-study are not obligated to work. Some Clark students earn all of their allotments, some just part of their allotments, and still others choose not to work on campus. When an offer of work-study assistance is made, Clark University does not guarantee a student will earn his/her full allotment nor does it guarantee a job opportunity.  Visit the Student Employment overview page for more information.

Your financial aid award at Clark may have been based on the assumption that you will not receive aid from non-Clark sources, if you did not report these resources on the CSS profile or notify our office directly. If you do receive outside scholarships from outside resources, we may revise our offer of financial aid.  Clark University’s policy for these adjustments is as follows: for scholarships based on the student’s merit, outside funds may first fill unmet need as calculated by Clark University. Any remaining outside funds will go first to reduce the student’s self-help aid -work-study then loans-; any remaining outside funds will then reduce Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Scholarships that are not meritorious like federal or state grants will reduce the Clark University Grant dollar-for-dollar. Tuition subsidies based on parent’s employment, reduce Clark University Grant $.50 per dollar after the first five thousand dollars. Copies of all Scholarship awards need to be provided to both the Financial Assistance and Student Accounts Office as soon as you are notified of the award, to provide you the best possible information  about how these awards can impact your financial aid award and bill. Clark reserves the right to make adjustments at any point during the semester.

Students studying in a “Clark program” will receive their usual aid package, with the exception of federal work-study.

Students studying in a “Non-Clark program” will receive only their Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Pell Grant, if applicable. You can review the Study Abroad FAQ for answers to your questions.

Unless you have indicated that you are living at home with your parents and commuting to Clark, your financial aid award is based upon the premise that you are incurring living expenses such as room and board or rent and groceries. Therefore, whether you are living in an on-campus residence hall or an off-campus apartment and whether or not you are participating in the meal plan, your aid will remain the same. LEEP Scholars who live off campus are not eligible for the room and board award.

Students are limited to 8 semesters (fall/spring semesters only) of Clark sponsored need-based financial aid and merit scholarship awards. If your undergraduate degree should take more than 8 semesters for you to complete, you may be eligible for federal aid in the form of student loans beginning the ninth semester. Please contact the office of Financial Assistance regarding this situation for more information and guidance.

Yes.  The Office of Student Accounts partners with Tuition Management Systems (TMS) to manage the monthly payment plan. An alternative to large payments each semester, this plan allows families to make ten equal payments beginning June 1st. There is no interest charge for this service, only a modest enrollment fee. Enrollment after June 1, requires all retroactive payments are made. There is also a deadline to enroll. You can review this program with Student Accounts at +1-508-421-3801 or visit the Student Accounts web page for more details.

While undergraduate day school students who have never received aid can apply, institutional funds are not reserved for this purpose. Returning students who have not previously applied for aid should plan to receive federal funds only and not Clark funds, unless their family has had a significant change in circumstances such as loss of a job or death in the family of a significant wage earner. Please contact our office to discuss this situation in greater detail.

• Undergraduate students who are enrolled less than full time are eligible for federal financial aid only.
• Those students with a less intensive academic schedule mandated by the Dean of the College will be reviewed on an individual basis for Financial Aid.
• Students enrolled in a five-year combined bachelor’s and master’s program are limited to four years of Clark aid for their undergraduate program. Fifth-year students are considered graduate students, which means they may apply for Federal Stafford Loans.