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How to Apply for Financial Aid

To apply for financial aid, MCPHS students are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA school code is 002165. Students who complete the FAFSA will be considered for all possible funding sources including federal, state, and university programs.

To determine need-based eligibility, students may submit the FAFSA application as soon as possible after October 1 (and before the March 15 priority filing date). You do not need to be accepted to MCPHS to complete the FAFSA.

If you are a prospective freshman, please contact your Admission Counselor for any financial aid questions prior to your arrival on campus as an enrolled student. If you are not sure who your counselor is or what their contact information is, you can find your counselor here.

Applying for financial aid: quick reference

To apply for financial aid for the 2019–2020 academic year all you need is a 2018–2019 FAFSA, which will be available online after October 1, 2018.

First, create an FSA ID. An FSA ID is your access to certain U.S. Department of Education websites and is used to confirm your identity when accessing your financial aid information. You will also use it to electronically sign your federal student aid documents. Students and parents are each required to have their own FSA ID.

Once you have your FSA ID, you are ready to apply! Remember, if the student is a dependent student, both the student and the parent are required to electronically sign the FAFSA.

The MCPHS college code for the FAFSA is 002165.

Before beginning a FAFSA for the 2018–2019 school year, you will need financial information from 2017. It is also important to gather the following:

  • Student's Social Security Number (SSN)
  • Student's driver's license (if applicable)
  • 2017 W-2 forms and other records of money earned for student AND parents
  • 2017 Federal Income Tax Return (IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ) for student AND parents
  • 2017 Untaxed Income Records for student AND parents
  • Current bank statements for student AND parents
  • Current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records for student AND parents
  • Alien registration or permanent resident card (if student is not a U.S. citizen)

Once you submit your application, you will get a Student Aid Report (SAR), which lists the information you reported on your FAFSA, as well as your estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is used to determine your aid package.

Please review the SAR for processing comments and to verify the accuracy of the information and to make corrections if necessary.

If estimated tax information is used, MCPHS encourages all students and families to return to their FAFSA and utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Process to import verified student and/or parent tax information. The following timeframe applies to the availability of your 2016 federal tax data after you have filed:

  • Electronic tax filers should allow three to four weeks from filing date
  • Paper tax filers should allow eight to 10 weeks from filing date

Please note that certain tax filing statuses make you ineligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Process.

Award letters are mailed to first-year students on a rolling basis beginning in March.

Each year, the federal government selects students who have completed the FAFSA application for verification. The verification process simply requires that the university review supporting documents to verify the information reported on the FAFSA for the parent(s), student, and spouse. Information that must be verified includes adjusted gross income, federal tax paid, untaxed income, child support paid, SNAP (food stamp) benefits, the number of family members in the household, the number of children in the household who are enrolled at least half-time in college, high school completion status, identity, and statement of educational purpose.

If you are selected for verification, you are required to submit any requested additional information. MCPHS encourages all students and families to utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool as this is the preferred method for FAFSA filers to report federal tax information.

If the IRS Data Retrieval Tool was not used on your latest FAFSA transaction, then the student and/or parent will need to obtain a 2017 Federal Tax Return Transcript from the IRS. Students and/or parents may complete online requests for a federal tax return transcript at www.irs.gov. Online requests are considered the quickest approach to obtaining a federal tax return transcript. This process may take up to ten days to fulfill.

MCPHS will not disburse federal, state, and institutional financial aid to a student’s account until the student completes the verification process. Failure to complete the verification process may result in cancellation of financial aid. The university reserves the right to verify any application that appears to contain discrepant information.

In addition to verifying a student’s application data, MCPHS is required by federal law to resolve any conflicts of information that become evident as part of the application review process.

File your FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov as early as possible after October 1. Use estimated income data if necessary. Don't wait until you're accepted at the university to apply. Waiting could delay your notification of eligibility.

MCPHS gives the greatest consideration to those who meet the March 15 FAFSA priority filing deadline. Late applicants may receive reduced funding levels.