Holy Cross students must apply for financial aid every year. To make sure that your application is given priority consideration for financial assistance, all continuing students must complete their financial aid applications correctly and on time. If you file late, your application will be processed as time and fund availability allow.
Please note that for the 2025-2026 academic year, financial aid eligibility will be based on income information from tax year 2023.
Continuing students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile as soon as possible.
For 2025-2026, the FAFSA is expected to be available on December 1, 2024.
The CSS Profile will be available on October 1, 2024.
| Required | Priority Filing Dates |
|---|---|
| FAFSA | January 15, 2025 |
| CSS Profile | January 15, 2025 |
| 2023 Federal Tax Returns submitted to IDOC (after CSS Profile is submitted) | January 15, 2025 |
| Notification of Financial Aid Your Financial Aid Offer – 2024-2025 | June 2025 |
Continuing Students: January 15, 2025
Transfer Applicants: April 1, 2025
An official, valid FAFSA is required of all students who intend to apply for federal or institutional financial aid.
Make sure you include Holy Cross' federal school code (002141) on the FAFSA to ensure that we receive your data. It is recommended that you file the FAFSA online, or you may acquire a paper FAFSA by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID and submitting it via mail to the processing agency.
If your FAFSA is selected for Federal Verification, we will be in contact with you and your family on specific additional requirements as needed.
You are required to submit the 2025-2026 Verification Worksheet. This worksheet must be completed, signed by the student and parent, and submitted along with all other documents to IDOC. Please be advised that your application for financial aid will be considered incomplete until we receive this and all requested documents necessary to complete the verification process.
Continuing Students: January 15, 2025
Transfer Applicants: April 1, 2025
This application is required if you wish to be considered for Holy Cross need-based grants and scholarships
The CSS Profile is free for all domestic undergraduate students whose family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is $100,000 dollars or less
You can begin the online application process by creating a College Board account (if you don't already have one). You may then complete the entire CSS Profile in one sitting, or you may choose to save it and return to it later.
Returning students are not required to submit a CSS Profile for the noncustodial parent(s), nor submit their tax documentation to IDOC. We will carry forward the calculated noncustodial parental contribution used last year. However, if you would like a reassessment of the noncustodial parent contribution, please follow the instructions below.
If your parents are separated, divorced, or never married and NOT living together, both of your biological/adoptive parents will complete their own CSS Profile. Each parent will access the CSS Profile with different log-in credentials. The noncustodial parent will need to create a College Board account before providing his/her information. It's highly recommended that the student and custodial parent complete the CSS Profile first, as the noncustodial parent cannot submit information until the student selects a school that requires the submission of noncustodial parent information.
If your noncustodial parent's information was waived last year due to special circumstances, you do not need to submit another waiver request.
Complete copies of actual federal tax returns (i.e. 1040 Form) including all schedules, W-2 wage statements, all business tax returns (i.e. partnership, s-corporation, corporate), schedules, and K-1s must be submitted for both the parent(s) (custodial and noncustodial) and student to the College Board's Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC) by January 15, 2025 for continuing students and by April 1 for transfer applicants.
You will receive instructions after you have completed the CSS Profile application online on how to submit your documents to IDOC.
If either you and/or your parent(s) do NOT file a federal tax return, you must download, complete, and submit to IDOC a Non-Tax Filer's Statement (PDF). In addition, except for dependent students, confirmation of non-filing from the IRS or other relevant tax authority dated on or after October 1, 2024 is required. Please visit the IRS.gov website to request a Verification of Non-filing Letter.
June
Continuing students should be able to view their financial aid offers in their STAR portal by mid-June, provided that all required financial aid applications and documents have been received.
August
All continuing students who are first-time financial aid applicants will receive offer information by August, provided that all required financial aid applications and documents have been received.
Understanding Your Financial Aid Offer
Continuing students will be notified of their financial aid offers in June, provided that all required financial aid applications and documents have been received.