* Most who qualify have multiple children in college.

Understanding the Yale financial aid offer

Yale’s financial aid evaluation process is holistic. Financial aid officers review every aid application carefully to ensure they understand each family’s individual financial situation. Here is a general introduction to what is included in a Yale financial aid offer.

Estimated Cost of Attendance: Tuition, room, board, books, travel expenses and personal expenses for one Yale student for one full academic year. Gift Aid: The Yale Scholarship, and any government or external awards. Gift aid does not need to be repaid. Estimated Net Cost: The amount a student and family is expected to contribute towards the cost of a Yale education. Yale will calculate this number every year based on the information provided in a financial aid application.

Estimated Cost of Attendance - Gift Aid = Estimated Net Cost

Options to pay net cost

Yale suggests that students and their families meet the Estimated Net Cost, which includes billed and unbilled expenses, with these components:

Parent Share: What a student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) are expected to contribute. The amount is dependent on a family’s income and assets. Many lower-income families will have a parent share of $0. Student Share: A standardized estimate of a student’s ability to earn income through term-time and summer employment. For first-year students the suggested amount is either $3,700 or $4,450 depending on the family’s financial need. For upper-level students the suggested amount is either $3,700 or $5,950 depending on the family’s financial need.

Students and their parents work together to determine the right strategy for covering net cost and dividing costs between student and parent(s) and who will cover which billed and unbilled expenses. Funds from outside merit-based scholarship awards can be used to reduce or eliminate the Student Share.

Loans are not included in Yale’s financial aid awards, but students and parents may opt to take advantage of their eligibility for education loans as an alternative route to paying their net cost.

Understanding expected family contribution (EFC)

The Expected Family Contribution is not the amount that will appear on a Yale term bill. Rather, it is an estimate of the total Net Cost a family will pay to cover a student’s estimated expenses for one year, including indirect costs such as books and personal expenses.

Yale calculates the Expected Family Contribution through a holistic review process. As part of this process, Yale use a formula that considers the following:

Parents’ income

Parents’ assets (cash, savings, home equity, other real estate and investments)

Family size

Number of children attending college

Student’s expected income from summer and term-time jobs

Student’s assets (cash, savings, trusts, and other investments)

Yale also evaluates other circumstances, such as exceptional medical expenses, on a case-by-case basis.

How to apply for aid

To apply for aid, most prospective students and their families will need to send three documents to the Student Financial Services Office. See the detailed instructions on the Undergraduate Financial Aid website for more information.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Yale’s FAFSA code is 001426 The College Board CSS Profile Application Yale’s CSS Profile code is 3987. Applicants from low-income families with few assets automatically receive a fee waiver when completing the CSS Profile. Signed copies of the parents’ federal tax returns submitted through the College Board’s Imaging and Documentation Service.

There is no deadline to apply for aid, but Yale strongly recommends submitting these documents before March 1 to ensure that, if admitted, a student has an award letter in time to make a matriculation decision by May 1.