The following steps apply to the vast majority of all students at Thomas Jefferson University regarding how to apply for and receive financial aid. There are a couple of exceptions as indicated below:

• International Students—if you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you are ineligible for federal, state, and need-based university funds.
  • Center City students—contact the Financial Aid Office (Center City) if you have any questions.
  • East Falls students—you may be eligible for an academic scholarship. Contact your Admissions Counselor, international student advisor, or the Financial Aid Office (East Falls) if you have any questions.
• Study Abroad Students (East Falls only)—contact the Study Away Office in conjunction with the Financial Aid Office (East Falls) if you are considering study abroad through another college or university. Students who are studying at another approved institution are required to have the Jefferson Consortium Agreement (PDF) completed by an official at that institution in order to be considered for financial aid at Jefferson.

Step 1:

Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) here.

• If you are considered a dependent student, your parents’ financial information must be included on the FAFSA.
• Students who do not meet the federal criteria of an independent student can complete the Dependency Status Review form (PDF) for an assessment of whether or not they can be considered independent.
• If you are required to complete a federal tax return, make sure you have done so, because it is a required piece of documentation.
• Please note: the FAFSA will use tax information for the applicable tax year that you should have already submitted on your tax return. If you can, we recommend that you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool option to auto-fill the IRS tax return data directly into your FAFSA. This is the easiest way to provide you and/or your parents’ tax return information and ensures that your FAFSA has accurate tax information.
• Deadlines
  • Center City students—priority deadline for incoming students: April 1; priority deadline for returning students: March 15
  • East Falls students—priority deadline for all students: April 1; early action students are encouraged to apply by December 1 to receive their financial aid package by December 15.
• Jefferson College of Life Sciences postbaccalaureate students & Jefferson College of Nursing FACT-1 students only—you are considered a fifth-year undergraduate student; your program is not considered a graduate program.
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College students only—parents’ financial information must be included on the FAFSA if you are applying for institutional scholarships and institutional loans.

Step 2:

You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a paper or electronic document that lists your answers to the FAFSA questions. The SAR will indicate that your FAFSA is either:

• Complete—an Expected Family Contribution will display in the upper right-hand corner of your SAR.
• Incomplete—an Expected Family Contribution will not display in the upper right-hand corner of your SAR and it will tell you what you need to do to resolve any issues.

Step 3:

You will hear from the Financial Aid Office regarding your eligibility for student financial aid programs.

Step 4:

Federal, state, and university grants and scholarships are automatically accepted on your behalf on BannerWeb.

• If your financial aid package includes federal student loans and you have accepted the award of federal student loans, then you are required to complete a Master Promissory Note (only if you are a new borrower) and Entrance Counseling.
• If your financial aid package includes university loans and you have accepted the award of university loans, then you are required to complete an Annual e-Promissory Note.
• If your financial aid package includes Federal Work-Study and you have accepted the award of Federal Work-Study, then you are required to complete a Federal Work-Study application located on BannerWeb.
• Students and/or parents whose financial circumstances have changed since filing the FAFSA may complete the Income Reduction Form to notify the Financial Aid Office of the details pertaining to the changes in their financial circumstances:
  • Income Reduction Form – Independent Students (PDF)
  • Income Reduction Form – Parents of Dependent Students (PDF)

Additional Steps for Sidney Kimmel Medical College Students

• If you are applying for institutional scholarships or institutional loans, you must:
• Submit the Jefferson Institutional Financial Aid Application and Verification Worksheet located on BannerWeb.
• Complete the parental section on the FAFSA.
• Submit a signed copy of your parents’ federal income tax return to the Financial Aid Office. If your parents did not and will not file a federal income tax return, then they must complete the Non-filing Statement located on BannerWeb.
• If you are not applying for institutional scholarships or institutional loans, you must submit the Not Applying for Institutional Aid Confirmation form located on BannerWeb. Submitting parental information is not required.