Eligibility
You must be accepted into a degree program and enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for aid. At Clark, half-time student status is at least two units per semester. Your eligibility for aid can change if your enrollment status changes. All changes to your enrollment status after you have received your award letter should be reported to the Office of Financial Assistance.
Clark University does not offer financial assistance directly to international students. International students may apply for a credit-based education loan. However, a U.S. citizen is required to co-sign the loan. Please refer to detailed information in the Financing Options section.
Application Process
Priority Filing Deadlines for Applying for Financial Aid
May 1 – Summer
June 1 – Fall
December 1 – Spring
*Applications will continue to be accepted after the priority filing deadline.
Students may apply for financial assistance at any point before or during the academic year. Do not wait until classes begin to apply, because the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) may take several weeks to process the results to Clark University. Once all required forms are received, you will be mailed an award notification notifying you of your eligibility for financial aid. Please note that if you wait until after the priority deadlines, it is unlikely that you will have a loan approved in time for the beginning of classes.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
This form is required of all graduate students applying for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and/or the Direct PLUS (GradPLUS) Loan. The FAFSA is available online after October 1. Clark University’s federal school code is 002139; be sure to include this number on the FAFSA to ensure that we receive the results.
When you are completing the FAFSA online you will need an FSA ID username and password sign the FAFSA electronically; if you have never applied for aid before or if you do not have an FSA ID username and password you will be prompted to create one when you begin the FAFSA.
Complete Clark Application for Financial Aid
This form is required for all graduate students applying for financial assistance. The Clark Application for Financial Aid is available online.
Additional Forms
The Office of Financial Assistance may need verification of you and your spouse’s income as filed with the IRS. You may use the IRS Data Retrieval available on the FAFSA to upload your financial information from the IRS to the FAFSA. If you are unable to utilize that tool, we may request and official IRS tax return transcript Your CUWEB portal will have the requests for information we need. Please only submit information upon request.
E-Awards
Financial aid award e-notifications will begin to be sent approximately one month after the deadline date for each period of enrollment. During periods of non-enrollment the first e-award notification of the academic year is sent to the student’s personalized CUWEB account. During periods of enrollment awards are e-mailed to student’s Clark mailbox or academic department. Students will receive a School of Professional Studies and Graduate Student Federal Direct Stafford Loan Processing Form with their award notifications. Students must complete and send this form back to the Office of Financial Assistance to continue to the next step in loan processing. This form is also required for students declining an aid award. All revised award notifications are sent to the student via Clark email.