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Application & Financial Aid Process

There are a lot of steps before moving onto campus as a new Gustie.  Use the guide below to navigate through the process of being admitted and getting financial aid.

Application/Admission Process

  1. Application for Admission.  Apply to Gustavus online or by submitting the Common Application.  All applications formats ask for personal details, lists of accomplishments and experiences, and a writing sample.
     
  2. School Forms.  We need two school forms from each applicant.  Give the School Report/Transcript Request Form (Official Document Request) to your guidance counselor and the Teacher Evaluation to the teacher who knows you best academically.
     
  3. Fee.  There is no application fee whether applying to Gustavus online.
     
  4. Status.  All applicants can check what pieces of the application have been received and their admission status.
     
  5. Notification timeline.  Once you've received all parts of your application (see #1 and #2 above), you can expect an admission decision within three weeks.  To make sure you get notified at the time you want, use the basic timeline below.

     

    Application complete by   

      Admission decision by

    October 1   

      October 20

    November 1   

      November 20

    December 1   

      December 20

    January 1 or after   

      Rolling notification beginning January 20

     

  6. Scholarship award.  Within two weeks of receiving your admission letter, you'll receive another letter awarding any scholarships for which you're qualified.  (Read more about this below.)

  7. Deposit.  Regardless of when you were admitted, you can confirm your intention to enroll at Gustavus by mailing a $300 non-refundable deposit postmarked by May 1. You can also deposit any time online with a credit card or by electronic transfer from a savings or checking account.


Financial Aid Process

  1. Before Admission.  To get a possible award more quickly, you can begin the financial aid process before receiving an offer of admission.
     
  2. Scholarship Applications.  To be considered for the President's, fine arts, or speech scholarships, submit the individual  scholarship applications by January 7.
     
  3. CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE or Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  All financial aid applicants need to complete the PROFILE and/or the FAFSA.  Learn more about the PROFILE or go to the FAFSA website.
     
  4. Timeline:

    Admitted to Gustavus and submitted the PROFILE by  

       Financial aid award by*

    December 1 

       December 20

    January 1  

       January 20

    Admitted to Gustavus and submitted the FAFSA by 

       Financial aid award by*

    February 1 or after 

      Rolling notification beginning February 20

     
  5. * Scholarship Day.  Finalists (notified by February 1) for the President's, fine arts, or speech scholarships will receive their entire financial aid award shortly after participating in  Scholarship Day.
     
  6. Verification.  If you receive a financial aid award from Gustavus, you may need to provide additional documents.  Our financial aid office will notify you.


Merit-based scholarships

After admission to Gustavus, qualified students will be automatically considered for annually renewable merit-based aid (scholarships), like our Dean's Scholarship.  Some scholarships require  separate applications before consideration, such as our top academic scholarship (the President's Scholarship) and our fine arts scholarships.  The application deadline for these scholarships is January 7, 2013.


Need-based financial aid

Eligibility for need-based financial aid is determined by the one-time submission of the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE or FAFSA and the subsequent annual submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The PROFILE and FAFSA use a formula to determine your family's expected contribution toward your education costs in the coming year.  Family income and assets are primary considerations. Other factors are also assessed, including certain personal data like size of family, number of family members in college and age of parents.

To receive an initial estimate of your family's financial aid eligibility, use our online  use ufinancial aid calculator.

After receiving an actual financial aid award, some families will be asked to verify their financial information by submitting tax forms and other related forms.

Financial aid awards are renewable by completing the FAFSA each subsequent year.