US Citizens/Permanent Residents

In order to qualify for certain federal, state and institutional funding, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually. The FAFSA can be completed online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov . Designate Stevens Institute of Technology as your recipient by using our federal school code number of 002639.

We recommend that prospective freshman complete the FAFSA no later than February 15th of each year.
Returning students MUST complete the FAFSA no later than April 15th of each year.
Unless requested by the Office of Financial Aid, it is not mandatory for families to mail in a copy of their federal tax return to Stevens Institute of Technology. However, please keep photocopies of all your tax materials for your own records.

Federal Verification

Verification is a process in which the Federal and State governments require colleges to collect documentation to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data used to determine a student’s aid eligibility. The process is used to find any common errors that might have been made when filling out the FAFSA. Applicants are randomly selected by the federal student aid processing center to complete verification.

If you have been selected for verification, you will be notified by Stevens Institute of Technology’s Office of Financial Aid. We will also inform you of all required documents.

Any need-based aid that has been awarded to a freshman will not be disbursed until the student has completed verification.

Continuing students, who have been selected, will not receive a financial aid package until the process has been completed.

Therefore, it is very important that any requested documentation is returned to the Office of Financial Aid in a timely fashion.

International Students

As is the case at most colleges throughout the United States, aid to international students (those studying in the U.S. on visas) is limited. International students need not complete the FAFSA. We recommend that international students investigate other funding sources in their homeland prior to beginning their studies. A website that international students may find useful is www.edupass.org.

How/When Do I Apply For a Loan?

Once you have determined if there is a gap between the cost of attendance and financial aid, you may choose to begin the process of applying for a loan. Alternative financing is available from numerous sources. Please see http://www.stevens.edu/finaid/afo.php for a selection of financing options. We do not recommend any one lender or payment option. It is not necessary to begin applying for loans for the academic year until mid to late summer. However, if there is any question of your credit, it may be best to apply early in the chance that you need to seek out alternative financing. Be aware that you are only able to apply for loans for a maximum of one year at a time.

Once you have applied for a loan, the Financial Aid Office will be notified of your application and will then need to certify that the student/parent is eligible to borrow the requested amount before funds will be made available. Most lenders will then send the funds to the Financial Aid Office directly and we will post the funds to the student’s account.