• Federal FAFSA Code: 002901 

• College Board Profile Application Code: 2971 (Early Decision Applicants Only)

• New York State TAP Code: 1050

You can apply for financial aid by completing the FAFSA after January 1^st. Paper forms are available in your school college counselor’s office, usually by December if each year. You can complete your application electronically at www.fafsa.ed.gov. We strongly recommend that first year students complete their aid application by February 15^th. Early Decision applicants should complete the College Scholarship Profile Form by December 15^th. Returning students need to complete their FAFSA by April 1^st.

Many families do not have their federal and state income taxes completed until April; however, this should not prevent you from applying for aid on time. The FAFSA allows you to use estimated income figures on its form. You can always update your application at a later time and the financial aid will adjust your aid eligibility, if necessary.

There are no income cutoffs when determining a student’s financial aid eligibility. Many factors are taken into consideration when determining a family’s ability to pay beyond parental income such as household size, number of dependent children in college, family assets, and cost of the institution; so it is impossible to determine your eligibility based strictly on income. To know if you will qualify for financial aid-You Must Apply.

For new applicants to Wells College, you must be accepted for admission before an aid award letter will be sent to you. All students must have a processed FAFSA on file in order to receive an aid award letter. Accepted early decision applicants who apply for aid using the Profile Application Form will be notified by December 15^th. All other accepted students will be notified by February 15^th and returning students will be notified by June 15^th.

All financial aid, with the exception of work study funds, will be credited to your billing account in two equal disbursements: fall and spring. Once your charges have been paid (tuition, fees, room and board) have been paid, any additional funds will be refunded to you to help pay for off-campus living costs, books, or personal expenses. Students who have been awarded campus employment, will receive a paycheck for the number of hours worked in a specific pay period. Students in general are paid every two weeks.

All students are allowed to charge up to $400 for books and academic supplies each semester. They can then use their student employment earnings to pay the charges made at the beginning of each semester. Before a student can charge for books and academic supplies for the spring semester, the student’s balance from the fall must be paid in full. 

Outside scholarships must be included in your financial aid package as a resource to help pay for your educational costs. However, it is the policy of Wells College to make sure that students are awarded for achievements and efforts by first applying these funds to any unmet need the student may have occurred. If need has been met 100%, we will lower the student’s recommended loan amount. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the financial aid office of all outside scholarship awards.

All students who qualify for work-study will be given a student employment application. This application asks you to describe any work experience you may have had to date. We also give current supervisors the right to accept or decline a current worker who plans on returning for the following year. Therefore, supervisors request many upperclass student workers. First year students will be assigned their jobs according to openings we have on campus. Your campus job assignment will be in your mailing box upon your arrival to campus.

There are circumstances that will enable the Wells College financial aid office to adjust a student’s aid eligibility. These circumstances could include: job loss due to unemployment or illness, a one-time benefit that affected your federal adjusted gross income, separation or divorce, or unusual medical expenses. If conditions such as these occur during any of your four years at Wells, please contact the financial aid office. Do not send any letters to the federal aid processing center. They are not able to adjust your aid eligibility.

You are required to apply for financial aid each year. Sometimes family situation changes; another child attends college, a parent returns to the workforce, or a parent dies. For the most part if your family situation does not change from year to year, then you will receive the same amount of financial aid throughout your college career. The difference that may occur lies in the composition of your package. Wells must offer first and second year students more institutional grant funds their first two years than in their third and fourth years. The reason behind this is that the federal government has a graduated loan program, allowing students to borrow more as they progress in years. When additional loan funds become available, a student’s Wells Grant may be reduced.

Whether a student attends state university or private college, student loans are a component of the aid package and help families meet their educational costs. Depending on your family’s ability to pay, you may be packaged with a student loan.

The College Board, originators of the well-known SAT tests, has a page on their web site for families to determine their federal expected family contribution. You can find this web site at www.collegeboard.com