Affordability and Aid

Our Commitment to Affordability

Wesleyan has a longstanding history of championing access. Our approach to admissions is need-aware. If you apply for financial aid and are admitted to Wesleyan, we will work to ensure that 100% of your demonstrated financial need is met. We do this by evaluating your college costs, considering the financial circumstances of your family, and creating a financial aid package that bridges the difference between the total cost of your education and your expected family contribution by meeting your full demonstrated financial need according to our assessment.

Affordable + Accessible

At Wesleyan, equity is a core part of our philosophy and a cornerstone of our campus community. We are committed to giving our admitted students the best package possible to make a Wesleyan education affordable.

Helping You Afford Wes

Wesleyan University’s Financial Aid Office is here to help you understand our need-based approach to financial aid and to make an informed decision about attending Wesleyan. If you are admitted to Wesleyan and receive financial aid your first year and remain eligible, we will provide you with a financial aid package for all four years, and we will also consider changes in your family’s financial circumstances from year to year and adjust your financial aid packages accordingly.

So, you won’t need to worry that a new financial challenge affecting your family will make it more difficult for you to stay at Wesleyan. On the other hand, if your circumstances do not change significantly, your aid package will likely remain about the same year to year.

Wesleyan is small by design, but we do things in a big way. Big, as in awarding more than $72 million in need-based aid each year.

Getting Started

The first step in making an informed decision about your financial need and affording a Wesleyan education is to use our MyinTuition Calculator. It’s a quick and easy tool that doesn’t require paperwork to get your financial bearings. You can also use the Net Price Calculator for a more detailed analysis. Then visit our website for more information on added financial resources and options available to all students.

Important Deadlines:

In order to provide you with a financial aid review and potential award package, it is critical that you meet all deadlines.

Application Type Financial Aid Deadline
Returning Students November 15
Early Decision I November 15
Early Decision II January 1
Regular-Decision January 15
Fall Transfers (Entering September 2024) March 15

 

For newly admitted US domestic students, if you do not apply for financial aid by time of admission notification you will have to attend for two semesters before applying for institutional aid. (Each year, Wesleyan’s Financial Aid Office sends reminder emails about the new application process as early as October.)

For newly admitted international students, if you do not apply for financial aid by time of admission notification, you will not have any opportunity to apply for institutional aid.

Types of Aid

Wesleyan does not offer merit-based financial aid (however, you can apply scholarships you have received from other sources to reduce your work-study package). Wesleyan’s need-based aid can include part-time employment (work-study), and grants.

Learn More About Types of Aid

Tuition and Fees

The Cost of Attendance is used to help students and their families plan for the direct and indirect costs associated with attending Wesleyan.

Tuition and Fees

An Investment in You

Paying for college is an investment in you—and your future. At Wesleyan you will join a community of lifelong learners who value critical thinking, creative exploration, and applying what you learn to impact our world. 

  • Wesleyan’s residential college model with students living on campus all four years, offers the opportunity to extend learning outside of the classroom—through sponsored activities in dorms and program houses, casual conversations in the common room or in study spaces, and through a model of progressive independence with seniors living in our traditional wood-frame houses.
  • Wesleyan is a thriving community with a 95% retention rate and 90% 4-year graduation rate.
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