Continuing from our previous discussion on the Pathways to Notre Dame initiative (Read Part 1 here), let’s delve deeper into how need-based financial aid works and what it may look like for your family.
To apply for need-based financial aid, families typically need to submit two documents:
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CSS Profile: This detailed form provides information not covered by the FAFSA, such as the number of siblings in college. At Notre Dame, we require the CSS Profile because it often reveals additional need-based aid eligibility, making it an important part of our financial aid review process.
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FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is crucial for U.S. citizens and residents. Despite past challenges in the application process, we remain hopeful that this year will be smoother.
Learn more about applying for financial aid.
Estimating Your Financial Aid
Families don’t have to wait for admission decisions to gauge potential financial aid offers.
Notre Dame offers two helpful tools:
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MyinTuition: A quick, six- to seven-question survey that gives a rough estimate of what your need-based financial aid offer could be. It’s user-friendly and requires minimal parental input.
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Net Price Calculator: A more comprehensive tool requiring detailed financial information. This provides a narrower estimate based on more factors, helping families understand what to expect from our financial aid offers.
Keep in mind that both tools provide estimates and we strive to be conservative with these numbers to avoid overpromising.
The Bottom Line
At the University of Notre Dame, we are deeply grateful for the support of the Notre Dame family, which has helped make our need-blind admissions and no-loan financial aid offers possible. The Pathways to Notre Dame initiative marks a historic commitment to making a Notre Dame education affordable and accessible to all families. We believe that this will not only enhance our community but also empower our students to achieve their dreams without the burden of financial concerns.
Learn more about Pathways to Notre Dame.
Zach Klonsinski is a senior assistant director with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
He is the regional counselor for Minnesota, Missouri (Kansas City), Wisconsin, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, and China - Beijing