Common Questions

Of course! We are committed to making a WashU education affordable for students who have been offered admission. If you don’t apply, you won’t find out how we can help you. Our offers range up to the full cost of attendance. You have nothing to lose by applying.

Washington University will waive the $75 admission application fee for all students who apply for financial assistance, to ensure the fee isn’t a barrier to applying. Before you submit the Common Application or Coalition Application, powered by Scoir, simply be sure to indicate that you’ve been granted a Washington University Fee Waiver.

Student can create an appointment with their counselor by selecting their counselor from the Contact Us page and setting up an appointment through Calendly.

Yes. If your award contains need-based components, it’s important for the university to tailor your financial assistance package based on the yearly changes in your family’s income, assets, or family demographics.

In general, your award will remain the same or increase from year to year, as long as your family’s FAFSA and CSS Profile information remains relatively consistent. We realize changes in your family’s financial situation can happen from year-to-year while you are a student. We will work with your family to understand any changes and help you prepare for the upcoming academic year.

Only first year students are eligible to apply for WashU merit scholarships during their admission process.

You are required to maintain satisfactory academic progress toward your degree. This is generally defined as maintaining a 2.0 GPA and earning enough credits to graduate on time.

Many students choose Federal Work-Study jobs related to their academic and extracurricular interests. Work schedules don’t interfere with classes. Common part-time employment may include assisting a researcher, working at the call center, or helping students at the library. Students with part-time jobs tell us how much they learn from the experience. Both the job and the contacts they make are very helpful when they are looking for full-time employment after graduation.

If a student is studying abroad through a WashU program, their financial assistance award will be applied to their billed charges for the program. Please keep in mind each program is different, so be sure to check if WashU will charge for housing and a meal plan or if it will be the students responsibility to pay for those expenses out of pocket. The students award will be applied to all of their billed charges from the university and if they have remaining aid, they will receive it in a refund check to use on their indirect expenses.

No. Our interest-free Installment Payment Plan allows you to spread each semester’s tuition, fees, housing, and food charges over 5 equal monthly payments. Washington University’s Partners in Education with Parents (PEP) is among the best parent financing programs in the country. PEP features low interest rates, low monthly repayment terms, and the option to freeze all four years of costs at the entering-year rate.

Our primary goal is to help our students be successful. We do all we can in response to changing family circumstances to help you complete your Washington University education. Reach out to your financial assistance counselor if there are changes that you’d like to discuss.

Special circumstances can be submitted by completing the special circumstances form and emailing it to financial@wustl.edu. A counselor will review your form and be in touch. 

A student’s dependency status is dictated by the federal guidelines. We are only able to consider a student as an independent, meaning they don’t have to provide their parents information, if they meet one of the criteria that classifies them as independent.

Outside scholarships letters or checks can be sent to this address:

MSC 1041-105-05
One Brookings Drive
Room 020 Sumers Welcome Center
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

The type of National Merit Scholarship you receive is determined by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). If you receive scholarship funds from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Washington University will accept the award as an outside scholarship to help cover part of the cost of attendance. However, Washington University does not offer University-funded scholarships based on a student’s standing with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Students may change their meal plan within the first two weeks of the fall semester or within the first two weeks of the spring semester. All changes submitted in the first 2 weeks of each semester will be effective at the end of the 2 week period. For more information regarding meal plans click here.  https://diningservices.wustl.edu/meal-plans/

All full-time, degree seeking students on the Danforth Campus are required to have health insurance. If you want to waive the WashU provided health insurance you can do so in WebSTAC. For more information on how to waive the insurance and who is eligible to do so please check out the health insurance webpage.

Because in many cases Washington University meets demonstrated financial need with grant/scholarship aid and/or federal work study, you will not see federal loans in your financial assistance offer. However, most students who complete a FAFSA have eligibility to borrow federal loans if needed. Please reach out to your SFS Counselor if you would like to discuss your federal loan eligibility.

Private loans are available from a variety of lenders outside the University. These loans are credit-based and should be viewed as a last resort after other borrowing options have been considered. Although terms and rates vary among private lenders, in many cases a Federal Direct Student Loan may provide the student with more beneficial terms and conditions than a private loan.

If a student chooses to live off campus, their financial assistance award will not change. They will not get charged for housing by the university and if their award covers all of their billed charges from the university they will receive a refund check for the credit on their account, which can be used for off campus housing expenses.

Our financial assistance counselors are here to help students with budgeting. You can request an appointment with your financial assistance counselor for help.

We are pleased to offer all current students free access to iGrad, an award-winning financial literacy platform. Students have 24/7 access to personalized tools, courses, videos, and articles on a wide range of topics, including how to budget, save, and manage income.

Students can either pick up a physical check from Student Financial Services or they can enroll in direct deposit in WebSTAC to receive their funds directly to their bank account.

Refunds are disbursed the Friday before classes start each semester. If the student has enrolled in direct deposit, they will receive their funds 3-5 business days after the University disburses them. If a student does not have direct despot they will need to pick up their check from the Student Financial Services Office. 

Yes. International students can receive need-based financial assistance. Students with permanent resident status in the United States should apply for financial assistance as U.S. citizens. International students are considered for the merit-based academic division scholarships and welcome to apply for our Signature Scholar Programs (except for the John B. Ervin Scholars Program).

Costs for the 2023-2024 academic year, includes tuition, fees, and the student health insurance plan are $62,982. Living expenses (includes housing, food (university meal plan), books and supplies, clothing, incidentals, and recreation) are estimated at a minimum of $25,506 for 12 months. The total of $93,882 per year is the figure used for visa processing.

These figures may not include the costs for the English Language Program (required for students who do not meet English proficiency standards). Students in art and architecture should plan to spend an additional $600 for books and supplies. Some programs may require the purchase of specific computer equipment.

The cost estimate for living expenses covers only minimal essential expenditures. Expenses for clothing, recreation, and incidentals are variable, and the cost of travel outside St. Louis is not included.

Students admitted to the United States on student visas are not permitted to work off-campus during the first academic year (thereafter only under limited circumstances). Employment should not be considered as a means of support.

Our need-blind policy for first-year applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents means we will not consider an applicant’s ability to pay when making admission decisions. So, whether a student needs a small amount of assistance or the total cost of attendance, they will be considered for admission based on their abilities, not on their ability to pay.

This policy does not affect the financial assistance process—we are committed to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all students admitted to WashU.

We want to make WashU accessible to every qualified student. We do this by removing barriers to admission and providing financial resources to make sure all qualified students are able to attend, regardless of their ability to pay. In our review, we look for evidence of academic potential, strong personal characteristics and qualities, activities and commitment, and potential for fit in the WashU community. 

This investment in our students, which the university is calling Gateway to Success, is possible largely as a result of the extraordinary 65% return on the university’s Managed Endowment Pool for the 2020-21 fiscal year. It includes $800 million in endowed funding to support need-blind undergraduate admissions. 

All applications will be reviewed in a holistic and individualized manner with one goal in mind: to get to know the applicant as a person and understand how that student would both benefit from and contribute to the WashU experience.

Yes! It is important that you complete your financial assistance application by the stated deadline for your decision plan. We will use the information in your financial assistance application to ensure we are meeting 100% of your demonstrated need.  

Our need blind admissions policy applies to all first-year domestic applicants for undergraduate admission. Not included in this program are international applicants, transfer students, and students admitted from our wait list, although we meet 100% of need for these students.