Understanding Aid Awarding: Undergraduate Students
All undergraduate Arts & Sciences and Engineering financial aid at Tufts is need-based. This need, or aid eligibility, is the difference between your educational expenses (cost of attendance) and the university's estimate of what your family can contribute toward those expenses. Educational expenses in our total budget include tuition, fees, housing, food, books, and personal expenses.
Tufts does not offer any merit or academic scholarships to Arts & Sciences and Engineering students. All aid is based solely on financial need and is not adjusted for superior academic performance or extracurricular activities. The only exception is a small ($500 per semester) Tufts National Merit Scholarship program.
How Financial Aid Eligibility Is Calculated
You and your family are expected to contribute to your undergraduate educational expenses to the extent that you are able. In our analysis of family finances, the Financial Aid office reviews information reported on the CSS Profile, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and federal tax returns in order to determine your family’s contribution. We also review business taxes and noncustodial parent information, if either of these apply to your family.
The Parent Contribution is our estimate of your parents’ ability to contribute to your education based on such factors as income, assets, whether you will have housing charges or commute from home, your family size, and the number of siblings in college.
If you have one or more siblings enrolled full time as an undergraduate student with similar costs, the family contribution will be reduced. Graduate students are not included in the number in college calculation for institutional aid purposes.
The Student Contribution is based on your income and assets. The typical expectation will be $1,700 - $3,000.
The combination of student and parent contributions make up the Tufts Expected Family Contribution, or EFC.
In determining your eligibility for Tufts’ grants and loans, Tufts will use an institutional analysis as well as adjustments for information on your parents' tax returns. In some cases, the Tufts EFC shown on your financial aid decision letter will differ the federal Student Aid Index (SAI) shown on the FAFSA Submission Summary from the federal government. Tufts uses our institutional calculation to determine eligibility for Tufts grant aid.
Federal Aid Requirements
To receive federal aid you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and have a valid Social Security number. To maintain your eligibility for federal aid, you cannot owe payments or be in default on a Federal Perkins Loan, a Federal Family Education Loan or a Direct Stafford Loan for attendance at Tufts or another institution; nor can you owe a repayment on a Federal Pell Grant or Federal SEOG Grant; nor can you have borrowed in excess of the loan limits, under Title IV Programs, at any institution.
EFC Calculators
If you’re curious about your EFC, we encourage you to visit the College Board’s EFC calculator. This calculator can provide an estimate of both a federal and an institutional EFC by leading you through a series of screens that allows you to input your family’s financial picture. There are also many other helpful resources on the Calculate Your Cost site.
Please note that the calculator will only give you an estimate of your aid eligibility. The financial aid office makes the final determination of what your award will be based on a review of your financial aid application. The estimates from these calculators are only as accurate as the information that you enter. We advise using them only as a guide to what your family might expect to have to pay for educational expenses. The institutional calculator is not effective when your family has a business, reports losses on federal taxes, has a sibling enrolled at an institution that costs much less than Tufts, lives outside of the United States, or if you have a non-custodial parent to be considered.
Appeal Process
More information about the appeal process is available on the dedicated pages for Admitted Students and Current and Returning Students.