Frequently Asked Questions

You will apply for financial aid each year you are enrolled at Carleton. Visit applying for financial aid for new students, returning students, international students (only apply during the admission cycle), DACA and undocumented students, and veterans.

We believe the College Board CSS Profile produces a more refined and accurate assessment of a family’s need and their requirement for funding from Carleton.

Applicants should check their Carleton admissions portal, and contact the Office of Student Financial Aid with any questions. Returning and deposited incoming students should log into the Net Partner Financial Aid Portal.

More information can be found on the Federal Student Aid website.

If you realize you made a mistake on your FAFSA and have submitted it, you will have to wait until the FAFSA has been processed before you will be able to make a correction. Processing can take up to 2-3 days. After you make updates to the FAFSA and submit it again, Carleton will receive a corrected FAFSA. Generally, it’s not a problem other than a slight delay in processing your financial aid.

In most cases, we will attempt to keep your financial aid as constant as possible in subsequent years. However, as significant changes in a family’s finances occur (both positive and negative) your financial aid may also change to reflect those circumstances. Students can also expect their loan amounts to increase in subsequent years along with our cost increase. In most cases, student loans will increase by about $1,000 in each subsequent year. Seniors graduating in 2025 had an average 4-year cumulative loan debt of $21,075.

If there is a significant change in your family’s financial situation, you may submit a request for a review of your new financial situation. The request must be in writing and should explain what changes have occurred. The request should contain specific changes (dollar amounts, dates, etc.) along with documentation to verify the request.

If a 529 plan is owned by a dependent student or the student’s parent (custodial parent if the parents are divorced/separated), it is reported as a parent asset on the financial aid applications. If the 529 plan is owned by anybody else, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle or non-custodial parent, it is not reported as an asset on the financial aid applications.

Even if you do not qualify for need-based aid the following may be available to help with financing Carleton: Student employment, Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Direct Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS Loans), and various alternative loans. You can also find more information regarding alternative loan options and explore outside scholarship opportunities.

Look for full details on financial aid for off-campus studies.

The U.S. Department of Education may select your FAFSA for a more in-depth review of the information you provided, which is called “Verification.” More information about this process can be found on our dedicated verification webpage.

Normally a student is expected to fulfill all graduation requirements in four years or the equivalent of 12 academic terms. All students are subject to academic review and thus are assumed to be making satisfactory progress at a normal rate of progress which is considered to be 17 or 18 credits per term. Learn more information about satisfactory academic progress.

No. The Northfield Option will not change the amount of financial assistance you receive, since there are expenses when living off-campus.

There are times when a dependent student may request to be considered independent. In these cases, students need to reach out directly to the Student Financial Aid Office at Carleton. Financial aid counselors can discuss whether or not a student may qualify for a “dependency override” which would treat a student as independent and exclude parental information from aid consideration. More specific information about this process can be found in this Dependency Override document.

Click here for steps on how to access and print your Financial Aid Offer out of Net Partner.

Carleton College does not award financial aid to students seeking a second bachelor’s degree.

Financial aid at Carleton is primarily need-based. However, Carleton does participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Students who are finalists in these programs are eligible for Carleton scholarships of $2,000 per year.

If you have been named a National Merit finalist and have listed Carleton as your college choice with the National Merit Corporation, you will qualify for a National Merit Scholarship of at least $2,000 each year. Please note that although Carleton is a college sponsor, National Merit actually awards these scholarships according to their rules and procedures. With that in mind, it is important that eligible recipients maintain communication with National Merit.

No. Financial aid at Carleton is based on financial need and will not be influenced by assistance offered by another college. However, if the differences in the financial aid amounts are due to changes in the family’s financial circumstances that were previously not communicated to Carleton, the application may be reviewed again when additional information is provided.

Please visit the Named Scholarship webpage for more details and frequently asked questions.

Need-based loans require Entrance Counseling, a Master Promissory Note (MPN), and an award letter submitted to Student Financial Aid for your loan to be reflected on your student account.

Every student may have a different amount of loan debt they are willing to accumulate during their time at Carleton. However, seniors graduating in 2025 had an average debt of about $21,075 for those taking student loans which compares to the national loan debt average at four-year private institutions of $39,123. Students can expect the loan to increase in each subsequent year by about $1,000. It should also be noted that students can reduce their loans with outside scholarships on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Since the above loan debt figures are averages, note that each student’s individual experience may be different.

Any borrower taking out a federal loan for college needs to complete a Master Promissory Note through the U.S. Department of Education. It is a legal document stating that you agree to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest to the U.S. Department of Education; visit the Federal Student Aid website for more information on promissory notes.

You only need to complete the Master Promissory Note once, even if you take on additional federal student loans. If you are unsure if you have completed a Master Promissory Note, log into the Net Partner Financial Aid Portal.

Entrance and exit loan counseling is a requirement for anyone taking out a federal loan, whether subsidized or unsubsidized or a PLUS loan. You will complete loan counseling through the U.S. Department of Education’s website. Loan counseling sessions last about 20-30 minutes and are meant to make sure you understand the loan process, terms, and repayment requirements.

You will only need to complete entrance counseling for your first loan and exit counseling when you graduate or stop your studies.

Carleton also requires loan counseling for loans offered through the college; you will receive information from the business office if this is the case.

Carleton does participate in the ACM tuition exchange program. For more information about the program, please contact your ACM school’s human resources department.