What does a Wesleyan financial aid package consist of?

Self-help in a Loan/Work Combination

For first-year students, the loan amount is $3,500, and the work-study amount is $2,750. Loans are eliminated for high need students.  Loans for U.S. citizens and permanent residents are funded by the federal government, and loans for undocumented, DACA and international students are funded by Wesleyan. Work-study is funded by the federal government and Wesleyan University. 

No-loan Policy

This is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, undocumented students, and DACA students whose parental income is $120,000 or less, with typical assets of $400,000 or less. International students whose parental contribution is less than $10,000 may also take advantage of the no-loan policy.

Work-study

Federal work-study is available to eligible U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Students who earn funds to contribute toward their educational expenses may work on campus or at select off-campus locations. Institutional work-study funded by Wesleyan (for international students, undocumented students, DACA students, and certain U.S. domestic students) has the same provisions as the federal work-study program, except employment must occur at on campus sites. 

Government Grant Programs

Pell and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG)--may contribute to your grant award if you are eligible.

Note: Loans are taken out in the student’s name. Typically, you must start paying them six months after graduation. For students qualifying for institutional aid, Wesleyan caps the total value of student loans in our initial financial aid packages at $19,000 per student for the full four years of college. Grants do not need to be repaid.

Wesleyan Institutional Need-Based Grant

This grant covers your remaining total college costs up to the amount that your demonstrated financial need exceeds the value of your self-help loan/work combination.

How else we may be able to help: 

• Small start-up grants of $500 are provided to first-year students whose parents are contributing  $7,000 or less to Wesleyan 

• We also allow outside grants and scholarships to be applied to certain specific college costs. Go to your local library, high school guidance counselor’s office, local businesses and civic organizations, and your parents’ places of employment to discover viable options; and/or conduct research on search engines such as fastweb.com and www.finaid.org 

• Students with high need may receive a Wesleyan institutional grant for health insurance. These grants are awarded automatically to independent, undocumented, DACA and international students and to other students based on parental income/assets if they do not have comparable coverage. 

Questions about your financial aid package? Contact us! 

The Financial Aid Office is available to answer your questions. Our office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT Monday through Friday. If there is additional information not addressed in your financial aid application, such as a change in the family’s financial situation, please contact us. Please note that the Financial Aid Office does not match a merit-based award offered by another college or university, nor a different need-based policy implemented at another college or university. 

Other Affordability Initiatives 

The Three-Year Option

In addition to our need-based financial aid program, Wesleyan offers the opportunity to complete degree requirements (32 credits) in three years. This option could save you approximately 20% of the total cost of a bachelor's degree. Students who choose this option can use two Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate or A-level exam credits, plus three Wesleyan summer sessions – to avoid having to take an increased course load. If you choose this option, you should expect to pick your major early in your sophomore year, leaving plenty of time to complete your degree requirements.

Loans

Some families choose to spread the cost out over multiple years by leveraging parent or student loans, with both federal and private loan options available. Loans can be taken out to cover the full cost of attendance, or just a portion of the cost, to supplement contributions from the family’s income and assets.

Other Financing Options

If you need help meeting college costs, but do not think you will qualify for need-based financial aid, you may be incorrect. We suggest that you go to our calculators to begin to explore what your family would be asked to contribute. Both income and assets form the complete picture of your family’s ability to contribute to the costs of your education. We offer a monthly payment plan with a five-month, interest-free payment schedule per semester (the application fee is $45).