FAFSA FAQs
- Be a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident or other category of eligible non-citizen.
- Not be in default on a prior Federal Education Loan or owe a refund of a prior federal grant.
- Be admitted and enrolled as a regular degree-seeking student in an eligible University of St. Thomas program located at an eligible site.
- Be enrolled at least half-time.
- Be meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy standards for your chosen program.
You do not have to wait until you're admitted to complete the FAFSA and apply for financial aid.
You do, however, have to be admitted as a regular degree-seeking student in an eligible program located at an approved site to be awarded any federal financial aid. For example, if you are admitted to the Evening MBA program but have not taken the GMAT, you may be admitted as a non-degree seeking student. You are not eligible for financial aid until you have completed all of your admission requirements and the department has updated your admission status to degree-seeking. Students seeking a certificate only are not eligible for federal aid. You may initiate the private loan application process once you are admitted as a certificate-seeking student.
To begin applying for financial aid, you must first complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
You can complete the FAFSA in one of two ways: via a paper application or online. It is strongly recommended that you complete your FAFSA online for faster and more accurate processing of your application. In order to complete the FAFSA online, you will create and use a FSA ID. FSA ID refers to Federal Student Aid (FSA) Identification (ID). Your FSA ID consists of a username and password, created by you, that confirms your identity. The FSA ID serves as your electronic signature and is a valid, legally binding confirmation of your agreement to the terms and conditions for applying for financial aid. To complete your FAFSA online, go to studentaid.gov.
If you'd like to complete the FAFSA via a paper application, please call 1-800-433-3243. The U.S. Department of Education will mail you a paper application within two weeks of your call. The Financial Aid Office recommends you complete the online FAFSA to expedite processing and reduce application errors.
As part of the FAFSA, you will be asked to provide the school code(s) of the school(s) that you would like to receive your FAFSA information. The University of St. Thomas school code is 002345. The default address for the University of St. Thomas is 2115 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN. Even if your program is in Minneapolis, another location or online the graduate financial aid office will receive your FAFSA results successfully using school code 002345.
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is the standard financial aid application used by all colleges and universities that participate in federal student aid programs. Information from the FAFSA is used to determine whether you meet the eligibility criteria for financial aid and the amount that you are expected to contribute to your own education. Information from the FAFSA is matched against records with the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Student Loan Database.
You must file the FAFSA each year.
FSA ID refers to Federal Student Aid (FSA) Identification (ID). Your FSA ID consists of a username and password, created by you, that confirms your identity. An FSA ID can be created at studentaid.gov by clicking "Create Account".
If you have listed the University of St. Thomas as a school to receive your FAFSA data, we will receive an electronic file with the results of your FAFSA approximately one week after you file the FAFSA online or three to six weeks after you file the paper FAFSA. We will review your FAFSA and, if necessary, may need the following:
- Verification of income and family size
- Confirmation of social security number
- Confirmation of citizenship status
Once we have determined that we have accurate information from the FAFSA, the University of St. Thomas will determine a financial aid award for you. We will notify you by mail or e-mail (to your University of St. Thomas e-mail account) of your financial aid options.
The EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is used to determine eligibility for "need-based" financial aid. "Need-based" financial aid is a type of financial aid for which you must show financial need to qualify. The EFC is used to determine if you qualify for a Federal Direct Subsidized Loan (only available to licensure students enrolled in the School of Education) or other need-based scholarships or grants.
No. The EFC is calculated based on your income, assets, family size and number in college. Your cost of attendance is not considered when calculating the EFC. It is used as an index of your financial strength.
Dependent students are considered to be financially supported by their parents. Independent students are not considered to be financially supported by their parents. If you are a dependent student for purposes of the federal financial aid programs, you must provide parent’s information on the FAFSA. This means that parent’s financial resources are combined with the student’s financial resources to determine the amount and type of available financial aid.
All graduate students are indeed independent, but not all students admitted through the graduate schools at the University of St. Thomas are graduate students. Students who are admitted through the Graduate School of Education into the teacher licensure track only (as opposed to being admitted into the Master of Arts in Teaching track) are considered to be 5th year post-baccalaureate students, i.e. undergraduate students.
To qualify for Federal student aid as a graduate student at the University of St. Thomas, you must be pursuing a master’s degree or doctoral degree (including the J.D.).
You may be considered financially independent if you meet one of the following criteria:
- You are 24 years old before the first filing date for that academic year’s FAFSA.
- You are pursuing a graduate degree (NOT teacher licensure).
- You are married at the time you file the FAFSA.
- You have a dependent other than a spouse for whom you provide more than half of his/her financial support and will continue to provide that support from July 1 to June 30 of the upcoming academic year.
- You are a veteran of the armed forces.
- You are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training.
- You are an orphan or were a ward of the court until age 18.