Frequently Asked Questions

Room and meal plans are only billed if you expect to live on campus or have a Baylor meal plan. If you do not plan to live on campus or use Baylor dining services, you can subtract these amounts from your award letter's estimated out of pocket costs. These estimated room and meals are included in your estimated costs to allow for borrowing to cover these expenses if needed.

You will only be billed for room and meal plans if you expect to live on campus or have a Baylor meal plan.

As we receive additional information from your financial aid applications or enrollment status, your financial aid file can change. Sometimes this additional information changes the award dollar amount, and sometimes it just changes other supporting information in your file. Regardless, we are required to notify you if any information in your file changes to ensure students have the most up-to-date award package.

You might have received this letter without a change to the dollar amount if:

• Funding was added, removed or adjusted and your financial aid was recalculated after the initial letter, as a result of us receiving updated information.
• Examples of changes made to your file that could initiate a reprocess of your financial aid award package are satisfying outstanding verification requirements or updates to your financial aid applications.
• Conflicting information was resolved and your financial aid was recalculated with the new information.
• You have important messages in BearWeb that may need your attention.

Cost of attendance is a financial aid estimate of a student's total cost of attendance including billable and non-billable costs, and it does not show what is owed to the university. Billable costs are also sometimes referred to as direct costs and non-billable costs are referred to as indirect costs.

Students are billed by the University for billable costs such as: tuition, fees, on campus housing, and Baylor meal plans.

Students will also have non-billable costs which are not billed by the University and students must cover from personal resources or financial aid such as: books, supplies, transportation, personal expenses, off campus housing, and meals not from Baylor dining services. These billable costs are estimated and may vary depending on a student's enrollment.

No, your bill consists only of the billable costs billed by the University, which include tuition, fees, on campus housing, and Baylor meal plans. For more information on billable and non-billable costs, see "What is the difference between Cost of Attendance and my bill?"

Financial Aid awards by term can be viewed in BearWeb by following the path below once logged in: Select Student Financial Services > Financial Aid > Award Information > Awards for a Specific Year > Enter the academic year in question from the drop-down menu > Click on "Award Overview" tab.

On the "Award Overview" tab you will find the award offers by term, as well as the cost of attendance for the entire academic year.

Students can accept their federal direct loans through BearWeb following the path below once logged in at bearweb.baylor.edu: Select Student Financial Services > Financial Aid > Award Information > Awards for a Specific Year > Enter the academic aid year in question from the drop-down menu > Click Accept Award Offer > Use Accept Award column to accept the entire award or indicate partial acceptance.

You can access any outstanding requirements in BearWeb. Once logged in, follow the path below to determine any outstanding requirements: Select Student Financial Services > Financial Aid > Financial Aid Status > Select the academic year in question from the drop-down menu.

The requirement status will be displayed in the status column on the student requirements tab. To complete any documents, follow the links provided. Holds will be listed on the Hold tab.

Alternative loan eligibility is the amount you are eligible to apply for to bridge the gap between your cost of attendance and total amount of financial aid currently in your financial aid award package. To apply for an alternative loan, you can do so at the lender of your choice. We encourage students to take some time to explore our preferred lender list to compare rates and terms across lenders to get the loan that best fits your needs. You can also explore government PLUS loans here.

Learn more about how financial aid is impacted by Wintermester courses here.

The CSS Profile opens annually on October 1. The priority deadline for Freshman Early Decision 1 and Early Action applicants is November 1. The priority deadline for Freshman Early Decision 2 and Freshman and Transfer Regular Admission applicants is February 1.

You can access the CSS Profile here. 

Baylor’s CSS Profile school code is: 6032 

If you are an incoming undergraduate student who has been admitted and you wish to be considered for any federal financial aid, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  To be considered for any Baylor need-based financial aid, you must complete a CSS Profile and FAFSA.  The CSS Profile is a financial aid application administered by the College Scholarship Service (CSS), a division of the College Board. 

Baylor uses the CSS Profile to determine financial need for the university's need-based grant and scholarship programs. The extra information provided by the CSS Profile helps us to more fully understand your family circumstances. Because Baylor's institutional resources are limited, we must take the best measure of a family's ability to pay into account when awarding university funds to students.   

Some of the questions on the CSS Profile are also included on the FAFSA, so please ensure that you answer them correctly on both applications or your financial aid award package will be delayed while we work with you to resolve the conflicting information.

If you are a prospective undergraduate student and you wish to be considered for financial aid, you must complete the CSS Profile.

Otherwise, the CSS Profile is not required to apply to Baylor. 

The CSS Profile asks a variety of questions about your family’s financial situation.  Examples of topics include: “Do you have children enrolled in tuition-charging schools?” or “What is your debt load?” or “What medical expenses do you have?” 

The CSS Profile also includes a text box at the end of the application that allows the user to provide a narrative to the information that was entered.   

Baylor expects both parents to assist in financing a student's education.  If parents are separated, divorced, or never married, the parent that the student lived with the most (custodial parent) in the past 12 months should complete the CSS Profile.   The CSS Profile will ask for the non-custodial parent's contact information.  Upon completion of the CSS Profile, the non-custodial parent will receive an email from the College Board.

The email will explain the requirement for the non-custodial parent to complete the non-custodial Profile application and will provide a link to the non-custodial CSS Profile website, with login instructions.  Please note: Each parent will use their own login credentials so neither will be able to view the other’s reported information. 

In cases where the non-custodial Profile cannot be completed by the non-custodial parent (due to extenuating circumstances), please contact the Student Financial Aid office for further guidance and information about completing a waiver. This waiver does not need to be completed by the FAFSA/CSS Profile November 1 deadline.

View More information for Divorced or Separated Parents

If you have extenuating circumstances that would prevent a non-custodial parent from completing their CSS Profile, please read through the appeal information to determine if you may be eligible for an appeal. Be prepared to provide a brief statement explaining the need for a waiver. Baylor's Financial Aid Office will review your circumstances and determine if an appeal can be granted. This waiver does not need to be completed by the FAFSA/CSS Profile November 1 deadline.

It usually takes between 45 minutes to 2 hours to complete the CSS Profile.  To expedite the process, we recommend having all of the necessary documents on-hand when you start to complete the CSS Profile. Recommended documents include: Federal tax returns, W-2’s, records of untaxed income, bank statements, mortgage information, and records of savings, stocks, bonds and trusts. 

The CSS Profile is free for domestic undergraduate students whose family income is $100,000 or less. The fee for domestic students whose family’s income is greater than $100,000 is $25 for the first application sent. Additional reports sent are $16 each. The fee for international students is $25 for the first application and $16 for each additional report sent.

Baylor provides no payment fee waivers for the CSS Profile application.  College Board automatically determines if you qualify for a waived application fee based on your responses within the CSS Profile.   

TCU, Rice, SMU, St. Edwards and Trinity University utilize the CSS Profile. 

No, Baylor does not require the CSS Profile Business Farm Supplement. 

Yes. Non-US Citizens may complete the CSS Profile.  

Once you submit the CSS Profile, you are able to go back in and change limited information.  However, If your family's financial situation changes, and you are not able to make an update in a specific field after you submit the Profile, you may contact Baylor One Stop to receive directions on how to provide updated information here. 

Baylor University disburses financial aid up to 10 days prior to the start of a term. In order for your financial aid to disburse on time, make sure all of your requirements are completed in your BearWeb account. 

In order to maintain your eligibility for the academic scholarship, you must meet the scholarship requirements of full-time enrollment of 12 or more hours and a cumulative minimum GPA of 3.0 or above. Please note, if you will be graduating early as a result of taking classes in the summer, you may be able to apply one semester of your academic scholarship toward the cost of tuition for the summer term. See our Scholarship Exception Request.

If you have been awarded an outside scholarship that does not appear on your bill, make sure you have reported the scholarship online here. In addition, you can check with the entity awarding the scholarship to ensure it was sent to Baylor, and designated for the term of the bill. If the scholarship funds have already been sent to Baylor and designated for the term of the bill, please follow up with our Baylor One Stop Office.

If you have been awarded a department scholarship, confirm with the department that they have submitted the scholarship information to Financial Aid. If they have, please email scholarships@baylor.edu to inquire about the status of the award.

If you applied and were approved for a ParentPLUS or GradPLUS loan greater than 1 week ago, please submit a contact us inquiry if you do not see the loan in BearWeb. In addition to the approved application, you must have also submitted a Master Promissory Note and completed entrance counseling for the PLUS loan through studentaid.gov.

If you applied and were approved for an alternative loan, and your lender initiated the certification process more than 10 business days ago, please submit a contact us inquiry.

No, if you change your enrollment status (i.e. go from full-time to half-time) you will need to submit a contact us inquiry to ensure that the financial aid award is packaged correctly and disburses in a timely manner.

If you completed the FAFSA and had eligibility for the direct unsubsidized and subsidized loan, you must accept all or the portion of the loan you are requesting through BearWeb at bearweb.baylor.edu. In addition, you must complete the Master Promissory Note and entrance counseling for these loans at studentaid.gov. If you have completed all of these steps greater than 3 business days ago, please submit a contact us inquiry form.

Baylor's leadership team recently decided to combine what has previously been a separate component of each student's semester bill, the General Student Fee, into the total amount due for tuition.

As you have likely noticed, although you have been paying the same flat tuition rate – and are guaranteed to be able to do so for the four-year duration of the program – the amount you have been paying for the General Student Fee has risen each year with the prevailing approved increase, just the same as every other student.

That disparity is now ending. Beginning with the 2021-22 academic year, as a GTO student you will benefit from having the General Student Fee frozen at last year's rate ($4,702) for the remainder of your participation in the GTO program. As a result, the amount you will pay for the combined General Student Fee and tuition will not increase as you continue through your studies at Baylor toward the goal of an earned degree. 

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Bills are based on the number of hours a student is currently registered for. If you are registered for less than 12 hours (12+ hours is full-time status), only those registered hours will be reflected on your bill. However, if you then register for additional hours and become full-time, your bill will be adjusted.

Students can receive financial aid up to the cost of attendance for half-time enrollment and greater. To determine cost of attendance for different enrollment statuses, you can access the cost of attendance information at www.baylor.edu/sfs/coa. Each enrollment status does have a different total limit. To be eligible for aid, you must be classified at a minimum of half-time enrollment.

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No. Your financial aid eligibility is determined based on courses you are currently enrolled in.

Did you complete your FAFSA? If not, complete your FAFSA for the term you're applying for at fafsa.gov. This will determine eligibility for any federal aid. Did you apply for an alternative loan? If not, and you need additional funds, you can access information on alternative loans here.

Here are a few helpful tips if your estimated aid is not currently reflected in your bill:

• Make sure you are enrolled in 12+ hours
• Confirm you have accepted your aid in BearWeb
• If accepting Federal Loans, the Master Promissory Note and Loan Entrance Counseling must be complete for aid to show
• Be sure you have submitted all Verification Documents listed in your BearWeb account
• If you are a Texas resident, complete the Texas Residency Form

You can see the application of financial aid through the E-Bill system.

You can explore alternative loans to supplement your financial aid package. Here, you will find a preferred lender list to compare rates and terms to find a loan that fits your needs. You can also explore outside scholarships.

The FAFSA must be completed and processed prior to the end of the specific term. The last day the current academic year (2022/2023) FAFSA is available on fafsa.gov is June 30.

Immediately. Ideally, this process should be completed and finished prior to the start of the term. If you are using loans to pay for your educational costs, the certification period and loan set-up can take up to 3 weeks for processing. If using federal financial aid and you are selected for verification, it can take up to 3-4 weeks to complete the process.

Tuition Remission is applied manually each term. If you have an approved application through the HR system for the term in question, the Tuition Remission should be applied to your bill prior to the bill due date. If you do not see it by the bill due date, and you have an approved application, you can contact us.
 

Visit baylor.edu/its/weduo and follow the instructions. You'll need to do this in order to access all of your information in BearWeb. When you log in to DUO, you'll use your Bear ID (example: first_last3) and password.
 

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The Parent BU Financial Aid PIN is only sent to parents of students who are dependents based on their FAFSA responses. It is emailed to the Parent email address provided on the FAFSA.

If you are an independent student, you will not need a parent PIN.

If you are a dependent, the parent listed on your latest FAFSA should have received a notification with their Parent BU Parent PIN at their email address and mailing address on the FAFSA. If your parent cannot locate their PIN, your parent should contact our office to request a PIN reset. If your parent on the FAFSA needs to change the email address on the FAFSA, please have your parent contact our office.

 

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To access your requirements, visit bearweb.baylor.edu and follow these steps: Student Financial Services > Financial Aid > NEW Financial Aid Dashboard > Select Award Year > Home. Be sure to select the correct aid year that has the unsatisfied requirements.

Once you click on the name of the requirements, you will be redirected to the Conflicting Information and Verification (CIV) workbook where you can complete and electronically sign the form using your student PIN and your parent's PIN, if applicable.

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You can monitor the status of the documents through BearWeb. Once we receive your document, the status should reflect "received, not yet processed" within 24 business hours.

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Documents are processed in the order received and it may take a few weeks. We make every effort to complete processing as soon as possible.

The Entrance Counseling requirement is not updated immediately after completion; the requirement should be updated by June 15. If you have already completed entrance counseling and listed Baylor to receive confirmation, you may disregard these requirement messages.

The Student BU Financial Aid PIN is issued by Baylor and IS NOT the same as your FSA ID. The FSA ID is the username and password you use on the federal student aid website studentaid.gov, and on the myStudentAid mobile app.
 

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If the mailing address provided on the FAFSA is incorrect, you will need to resubmit the FAFSA with the updated information.