General Aid Policies

• »   Outside Aid Policy
• »   Verification
• »   Sibling Enrollment
• »   Divorced/Separated Parents
• »   Independent Undergraduates
• »   Citizenship requirement
• »   Family Education Rights & Privacy Act
• »   Drug Conviction
• »   Title IV Fraud

Treatment of Outside Scholarships

The University reserves the right to adjust its award, in compliance with federal regulations and institutional policy, if outside aid is received after it is estimated that a student’s need has been met. You are required to notify the aid office if you receive any outside aid, or if the outside aid award differs from the amount estimated on the aid notice.  Note that Tuition Benefits received from an employer are considered outside aid.  ROTC benefits are also treated as outside aid.

NOTE:  Outside aid will not replace any Unsubsidized student loans, nor will it normally replace your family contribution .

Your loan (Perkins and Tufts loans first) and/or campus work will be reduced before any necessary adjustment is made to Tufts grants, therefore it is to your advantage to apply for all outside aid for which you may qualify in order to decrease or eliminate your loan debt.

Federal Pell and State grants are estimated on student aid award notices. The Tufts Grant will be increased, or reduced, if necessary, when the actual grant amounts are confirmed, based on government and state criteria. An unexpected PELL or State grant will result in a reduction of Tufts grant.

Students must apply for State grants by the applicable deadlines as outlined on the FAFSA. Tufts grants will not be used to replace the loss of State grants if due to missing information or a missed deadline. The MA state grant agency can be contacted via phone at (617) 727-9420, or via fax at 727-0667.

NOTE:  If you want a credit placed on your account for a scholarship that will arrive after the bill due date, please submit to Student Financial Services documentation of the amount to be sent directly to Tufts (not sent to student), and a credit will be put on your account, pending receipt of the actual funds. A provisional credit can be placed on your account only if a check will be sent by the organization directly to the school. 

Verification

Verification is a federal review process required by the US Department of Education by which we compare information from your FAFSA with your federal income tax information and other related documents.

Your taxable income must be verified by using the FAFSA’s IRS Data Retrieval Tool or by comparing it to an IRS Tax Return Transcript. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows you and your parent(s) to upload data from your filed federal tax returns into  your FAFSA. You are strongly encouraged to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. Please note that your taxes must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to using the IRS data retrieval tool in order for the information from your taxes to be transferred to your FAFSA. If you complete your FAFSA before your 2011 taxes are complete and you are selected for verification, you will need to log into the FAFSA 2 weeks after your taxes are submitted to the IRS and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.

If you choose not to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, you must manually enter this income information into your FAFSA and submit an IRS Tax Return Transcript to Tufts. It will take time for the IRS to process your request which will delay the processing of your financial aid application. We cannot issue your financial aid award without the transcript.

Tufts verifies your untaxed income using your CSS Financial Aid PROFILE, federal income tax information, income tax statements (i.e., Forms W-2, 1099-SSA, 1099-MISC, etc.),  the Confirmation Form and/or the Tufts Returning Student Aid Application, or a Verification worksheet. If we need additional documentation, we will request it at the time we review your FAFSA.

The federal verification process may require us to make corrections to your FAFSA, in which case you will be notified by the U.S. Department of Education of these corrections. Corrections will be denoted by an asterisk on your online FAFSA.

If you only apply for a Direct Stafford Loan and the federal processor randomly selects your FAFSA for verification, you may be required to submit supporting documentation. We will contact you directly if documentation is needed.

Applicants are required to submit verification documentation, as requested, within 60 days from the start of the semester. All federal financial aid awarded must be cancelled if required documentation is not submitted within the above time frame.

U. S. Citizenship requirement

In order to receive federal aid you must be a U.S. citizen, or an eligible noncitizen.  Generally, you are an eligible noncitizen if you are (1) a permanent U.S. resident with a Permanent Resident Card (I-551); (2) a conditional permanent resident (I-551C); or (3) the holder of an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security showing any one of the following designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Parolee” (I-94 confirms that you were paroled for a minimum of one year and status has not expired), “Victim of human trafficking,” T-Visa holder (T-1, T-2, T-3, etc.), or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant.”  If the government cannot confirm your citizenship status you will be asked to provide documentation of your eligibility. The Student Aid Report you receive after filing the FAFSA will have a notation if your citizenship status requires you to provide further documentation to the Financial Aid office.

Selective Service requirement

Male students over the age of 18 are required to be registered with Selective Service in order to receive federal aid.  If you are not registered, the FAFSA allows a space for you to do so on the application itself.  If the FAFSA Student Aid Report has a notation that you are not registered, you must do so before you can receive any federal aid.

Sibling Enrollment

Tufts awards aid based on the information provided by parents on both the FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE.  When information is provided that more than one sibling will be attending an undergraduate college or university,  the family contribution (as determined by our institutional analysis) is divided based on the educational costs expected for that sibling. Graduate students are not included in the number in college calculation for institutional aid purposes.

Confirmation of sibling enrollment may be required. If a family is unable to verify sibling enrollment, financial aid will be adjusted accordingly.  If the number of family members enrolled in college will decrease in future years, a higher parental contribution will be expected (because family educational expenses will be less), and grant aid may decrease.

Divorced/Separated Parents

Tufts University upholds the belief that parents have the primary responsibility for educating their children. To this end, Tufts requires information from both the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent (the parent with whom the student does not live) in order to determine eligibility for Tufts financial assistance. We will use a parent contribution from the higher of the federal methodology (custodial household, as required by government policy) or institutional methodology (from the analysis of each biological parent only). While we understand that some families have prenuptial agreements in place, Tufts nevertheless will use our standard policy to determine a total family contribution. Families may take our calculated contribution and apply it to their individual circumstances as they see fit.

The non-custodial parent is required to complete a Non Custodial Parent (NCP) form, which is made available at the time the student completes the CSS PROFILE. For entering first year students, the NCP form must be completed electronically.

Independent Undergraduates

The university believes that the primary responsibility for an undergraduate education lies with the student and parent, to whatever extent possible. Therefore, all undergraduates applying for Tufts aid are required to provide parental information regardless of federal dependency status. If you have extenuating circumstances, you should consult with an aid officer.

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act

You are entitled to see your applications, grade transcripts, notice of awards and terms, and yearly reports. The Tufts' copy of your Federal Perkins Loan promissory note is open for inspection at the Student Loan Office in Dowling Hall. Universities are not required to show parents and students notes and records kept solely for aid office use in reaching an aid decision, or to show students parental tax forms unless authorized by parents. Aid officers may discuss family finances with a student, unless specifically requested by a parent not to do so.

Drug Possession or Sale Conviction

According to federal policy,  students convicted of drug offenses committed while receiving Title IV federal financial aid may be ineligible for federal financial aid for one or more years from the date of conviction.

The law does not apply to juvenile records, and students may regain eligibility by completing an acceptable drug rehabilitation program or by having their convictions overturned.

If you have been convicted of a drug offense while receiving Title IV federal financial aid, you are required to report it on the FAFSA. For additional information on this requirement call a federal representative at 1-800-433-3243.

Title IV Fraud