If you applied for financial aid, you’re likely already familiar with the CSS Profile and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The CSS Profile is used to evaluate admitted students for NYU scholarship eligibility. The FAFSA is used to evaluate students for federal financial aid.
The FAFSA underwent many changes for the 2024-25 academic year. While these changes are meant to make the FAFSA faster and easier to complete for students and their families, schools (including NYU) are only just beginning to receive FAFSA data after delays from the U.S. Department of Education. This means that your financial aid offer may include estimated federal aid, since we did not have actual FAFSA information at the time you were admitted.
It may be confusing to see estimated federal aid on your financial aid offer, particularly if your offer includes an estimated Pell Grant. We want to make sure that you feel confident in how much scholarship and grant aid that you will receive, so we’d like to address some common questions and scenarios to help you better understand your scholarship and grant eligibility.
If I’m admitted and receive an NYU scholarship based on my CSS Profile, will my scholarship eligibility change after NYU receives my FAFSA?
Your total NYU scholarship and Pell Grant eligibility will not change, though how the total amount is divided may be updated once we have your FAFSA. This is true whether your actual Pell Grant eligibility is more or less than we originally estimated.
For example, let’s say you received a financial aid package including an NYU Scholarship for $20,000 and an estimated Pell Grant for $5,000. The total between these two awards is $25,000. Once we receive the FAFSA we can confirm your actual Pell Grant eligibility.
- If we receive your FAFSA and your Pell Grant eligibility is $1,000 less than we anticipated, that $1,000 would be added to your NYU scholarship. Using the example above, the NYU scholarship would increase to $21,000 to compensate for the Pell Grant being reduced to $4,000.
- If we receive your FAFSA and your Pell Grant eligibility is $1,000 more than we anticipated, your NYU scholarship would be reduced proportionally, so that the total amount remains the same. Using the same example offer, the NYU scholarship would be reduced to $19,000 to compensate for the Pell Grant increasing to $6,000.
In both of these examples, the combined total between the NYU scholarship and Pell Grant is still $25,000, as it was in the initial financial aid offer.
Can I still file the FAFSA?
If you haven’t completed the FAFSA yet, there is still plenty of time to do so at StudentAid.gov. When you do, be sure to include NYU’s school code: 002785.
Am I required to file the FAFSA?
If you received an estimated Pell Grant in your financial aid offer from NYU, you are required to submit the FAFSA. If you did not receive an estimated Pell Grant, you are not required to submit the FAFSA, but will not be eligible for any federal financial aid (like work study, student loans, parent loans, etc) until you file the FAFSA.
How much could the Pell Grant change?
The maximum Federal Pell Grant award is $7,395 for the 2024-25 award year. As a reminder, if you received an NYU Scholarship, the total grant amount you are receiving will not change.
I’m a New York State Resident. What about TAP?
If you have an estimated NY State TAP Grant in your financial aid package, that is estimated based on federal data from your CSS Profile. Each year, NY State confirms TAP eligibility in the course of the fall term. Your confirmed TAP Grant eligibility will not affect your NYU scholarship eligibility.
What if I still have questions?
The Office of Financial Aid is here to help you with any questions you may have. We can be reached by phone at 212-998-4444, between 10am-4pm ET on weekdays. You can also email us at [email protected].
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