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Financial Aid

NewSchool's Financial Aid Advisors assist students with finding the best financial aid options and scholarships while answering application-related questions.

Financial Aid Steps

Federal Student Aid

Most students at NewSchool use some form of federal student aid. The federal government offers several financial aid programs to help you pay for school, including grants and loans. To find out what aid may be available to you, you must first determine your eligibility by applying for aid.

To apply for federal student aid:

Helpful Tips:  Be sure you have your previous year tax return information handy when you fill out the FAFSA. If you are a dependent student, your parents will also need an FSA ID, and you will also need their tax information to complete your FAFSA.

Federal and State Student Aid Deadlines

You may submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) until June 30.

Many states have additional financial aid programs available to their residents, and deadlines may differ. You will need to plan ahead. For example, the deadline for both CalGrant and California Dream Act applications is typically at the end of April or beginning of March.

To learn more about CalGrant, the California Dream Act, and other state programs, visit the CalGrantWebsite.

After You Apply for Aid

Once you submit your FAFSA, contact your Enrollment Specialist to help you set up an appointment with the Financial Aid office.

The Financial Aid office will produce an award letter for you and the financial aid staff member to review. They will go over costs and your aid eligibility with you and advise you on next steps. You will have the opportunity to decline any awards, complete loan applications and counseling as appropriate, and make arrangements to cover out-of-pocket expenses not covered by financial aid.

Want to Learn More?

Find additional information in the NewSchool of Architecture & Design Financial Aid FAQs.

Review FAQs and in-depth information about the FAFSA and federal student aid for both students and their parents at studentaid.gov

FAFSA Simplification

Due to the passing of the FAFSA Simplification Act on December 27, 2020, as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the FAFSA is undergoing major modifications for the 2024-2025 aid year.

2024-2025 FAFSA Availability

Instead of October, the 2024-2025 FAFSA will be available by December 31, 2023.

Be prepared!  As defined under “New FAFSA Terminology”, all contributors should have a studentaid.gov account (FSA ID).

This is only temporary for 2024. After the 2024-2025 aid year, the FAFSA is expected to be available in October as usual.

2024-2025 FAFSA Prep

While the 2024-2025 FAFSA won’t be available until some point in December, you can still prepare by doing the following:

– Create an account username and password on the Federal Student Aid website and assist contributors, such as your parent(s) or spouse, in creating their own account username and password. An account username and password provide access to the Federal Student Aid’s online system serves as your electronic signature.

– Sign up for informational emails and opt into informational text messages under Communication Prefences within your user account (i.e., FSA ID) to receive up to date notifications and learn about upcoming changes to the FAFSA.

– Complete the FAFSA as soon as it opens in December.

– Use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to find out how much federal student aid you may be eligible for starting with the 2024–25 award year.

What to expect:

  • Students can start completing the 2024-25 FAFSA by December 31, 2023.
  • Once you complete the online FAFSA, you will get a confirmation page along with a follow-up email.
  • The Department of Education will begin processing online FAFSA beginning in January 2024 and will begin processing paper FAFSAs in February 2024.
  • NewSchool will not begin receiving the results from your online FAFSA until the end of January 2024 and cannot begin making corrections until February 2024.

The new FAFSA application process will provide a simpler and more streamlined process for students. It will feature fewer questions, fewer requirements, and retrieve tax information using a direct data exchange from the IRS instead of the previous IRS Data Retrieval Tool.

Contributor

  • The FAFSA is introducing the new term contributor referring to anyone required to provide information on the FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, and/or the parent’s spouse (inclusive of step-parent).
    • Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student’s college costs.
    • Students will need the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), and email address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA.
    • Contributors will need to provide personal and financial information on their section of the FAFSA.
    • If your biological/adoptive parents are divorced or separated from each other, the contributing parent(s) is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) who provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA. If you did not receive any support from either parent(s) or they both contributed 50% to your support, then it is the parent with the highest income and assets. It is no longer the parent you primarily lived with during the past 12 months.

Consent

  • All Contributors–student, student’s spouse (if married), and student’s parents(s) (if a dependent student)–must provide consent to have tax data transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA, even if you did not file a tax return.  However, for a dependent student, only the student and one parent (if married) must sign the FAFSA if (1) filed a joint tax return as married in 2022 and (2) are still married to each other on the date the FAFSA is completed.
  • If consent is not provided by all required parties, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid.
  • In previous years, transferring IRS data was optional. It is now required.
  • If the IRS is unable to transfer your data, then you will manually enter the required information.

Student Aid Index (SAI)

  • The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is now the Student Aid Index (SAI).  It is a new need analysis formula used to determine financial aid eligibility.  Unlike the EFC, the SAI may be a negative number.

FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS)

  • The Student Aid Report (SAR) is now the FAFSA Submission Summary. This is the summary submission document you receive after completing the FAFSA.  The Department of Education will not send your FAFSA results until the end of January 2024.

StudentAid.gov Account (FSA ID)

  • Typically, every contributor must have their own account username and password in order to submit the FAFSA online.
  • However, in the case of a dependent student whose parents filed a joint return for the applicable tax year and are still married at the time the FAFSA is completed, only one of the parents is considered a contributor and needs an account username and password.
  • If the student is now married or has remarried after December 31, 2022, then the student and the student’s spouse will need an account username and password.
  • If the student’s parent is now married or has remarried after December 31, 2022, then the student, biological/adoptive parent, and step-parent will need an account username and password.
  • At the point the 2024-25 FAFSA becomes available, a contributor who does not have a Social Security Number should be able to receive an account username and password.
  • Go to https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launchto create an Account Username and Password.  An email address can only be attached to one account and cannot be used by multiple users.

FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX)

    • The FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) is the system replacing the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to transfer an individual’s Federal Tax Information to the FAFSA. Once the contributor(s) gives consent, the FA-DDX allows tax information to transfer from the IRS to the FAFSA.

Household Number in College

      • The number of family members in college will still be asked on the FAFSA, but it will no longer be used in determining the Student Aid Index (SAI).
      • This may mean that students who have several siblings in college at the same time may see a reduction in their federal Pell Grant eligibility than in past years.

Expect new rules for determining which parent(s) information must be included on the FAFSA and who must consent and sign.

What if my parents refuse to complete the FAFSA?

  • If the parents of a dependent student are unwilling to provide their information on the FAFSA, but the student doesn’t have an unusual circumstance, the student can choose to have their school determine their eligibility for a Direct Unsubsidized Loan only.
  • The school will have to document that the parent is unwilling to complete the FAFSA.  Typically, the parent will sign a form indicating their refusal to complete the FAFSA.
  • This will prevent the student from receiving any federal or state financial aid other than Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans.

What is a Provisional Independent Status?

  • If students indicate on the FAFSA that they have unusual circumstances that prevent them from contacting their parent or that contacting their parents would pose a risk to the student, the FAFSA will be processed based on a provisional independent status.
  • However, you do not qualify for aid under a provisional independent status.
  • An NSAD Financial Aid administrator must verify the student’s circumstances and determine whether a dependency override is warranted.
  • A student may be experiencing unusual circumstances if they:
    • left home due to an abusive or threatening environment.
    • are abandoned by or estranged from their parents and have not been adopted.
    • have refugee or asylee status and are separated from their parents, or their parents are displaced in a foreign county.
    • are victim of human trafficking.
    • are incarcerated, or their parents are incarcerated and contact with the parents would pose a risk to the student.
    • are otherwise unable to contact or locate their parents and have not been adopted.

Contact the Financial Aid department if one of the above circumstances apply to you.

The new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation may overall the number of undergraduate students who qualify for a federal Pell Grant and may also increase the amount received.

Eligibility for federal Pell Grant may be expanded compared to previous years.  However, due to the formula no longer including number in college, some students Pell eligibility may decrease compared to previous years.

The Federal Student Aid Estimator tool provides students and families an estimate of their 2024-2025 federal financial aid using the new Student Aid Index (SAI).

Please note: This is not a FAFSA. Students will need to complete a 2024-2025 FAFSA when it becomes available after December 2023.

Federal Student Aid has released a series of educational webinars related to recent changes in federal aid including the 2024-2025 FAFSA. Check out a couple suggested videos below and visit their YouTube channel for more.

New FAFSA Bootcamp

Dependent Student Prototype

Other Forms & Loan Options

The U.S. Department of Education may select some applicants and/or their families for verification. The Financial Aid office will contact you if further documentation is required after you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year.

Tuition, Billing &
Payment Plans

Your tuition balance is due on the first day of class unless you have created a payment plan in your student portal. We currently use an outside vendor, ECSI, to manage student payment plans. A link to set up your account with ECSI is available through the “Student Services” tab of the student portal via the “Manage Your Tuition Payment Plan” link.

You must set up payment plans by the first of the month of the term start. If you have a past due balance, please contact the Bursar’s Office before setting up a payment plan at 1-877-747-3566 Monday through Friday, 6:30 AM to 4 PM PST.

You can view and print your bill from your student portal at the “Account Summary by Term” link in the “Student Services” any time of day.

  • Online – You can make one-time payments online here or at the “Manage Your Account/Pay Your Bill” link in the student portal.
  • By phone – Use a checking account, savings account, debit or credit card to make a payment by phone at 1-877-747-3566, Monday through Friday, 6:30 AM to 4 PM PST
  • By mail – Send to: NewSchool of Architecture & Design, Attn: Business Office, 1249 F St., San Diego, CA 92101

Our interest-free payment plans allow you to pay tuition by splitting your budget (your balance due) into 3 monthly payments in our quarterly plan or into 9 monthly payments using our annual plan. Your budget is the cost of your tuition and fees minus the financial aid you receive.

For example: Your budget for the quarter is $1,500. Under the quarter plan, you would pay $500 on the first of each month for 3 months. Under an annual plan, with a budget of $1,500 each quarter for 3 quarters (FALL, WIN, and SPR) or $4,500 total, you would pay $500 on the first of each month for 9 months.

To set up a payment plan, go to your student portal, under the “Student Services” tab, find the link for “Manage Your Tuition Payment Plan.” Follow the “Get Started” link, enter your personal information, and select your plan and budget amount. There is a one-time account set-up fee of $25. You will use this same link to make your payments each month. That’s it.

Questions? Feel free to call us or email us at studentaccounts@newschoolarch.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have compiled a list of common questions and answers to help you navigate the financial process with ease.

Contact the Office of
Financial Aid

Mailing Address

1249 F Street | San Diego, CA 92101

Office Hours

Monday – Friday | 8 AM – 4 PM (Pacific)

Office of Financial Aid Hotline

Contact Information

Net Price Calculator

We are excited for you to discover the value and affordability a NewSchool education provides. Our calculator will give you an estimate of how much and what types of financial aid you might qualify for.

As you use the calculator, please remember:

  • This is not an application for admission or financial aid.
  • The results will only be as reliable as the data you provide.
  • The net price calculator will only give you an estimate of your net price and aid eligibility. The Office of Financial Aid will determine your final eligibility.
  • You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after October 1 the year before you plan to enroll to receive federal student aid.

Get Started

Log in to your Shopping Sheet / College Raptor account to quickly estimate your net price. To create a new account, click below or simply continue as a guest and make a new account after we provide your net price estimate.

By using this calculator you agree to our Terms of Service Agreement.

Note:

The estimate provided using this net price calculator does not represent a final determination or actual offer of financial assistance. The cost of attendance and financial aid availability may change. This estimate shall not be binding on the Secretary of Education, ShoppingSheet.com, Newschool of Architecture and Design or the State of California.

For more information about applying for federal student aid, please go to StudentAid.gov.

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