Prospective & New Students

Documents and forms required for prospective and new students prior to matriculation are listed below; see more information by clicking on the form or document name. Additional forms may be required to finalize your award after you matriculate; information on such requirements will be available on Finalizing Your Award later this year.

Announcements
Deadlines
Application requirements for
    U.S. citizens and permanent residents
    International citizens (including Canadians)

Announcements

  • FAFSA: Please submit the FAFSA as soon as it is available in January ( or possibly sooner).  We do not require the FAFSA for a provisional financial aid decision.
  • Undocumented students living in the U.S., including those with DACA status, should follow the application instructions for international citizens.
  • U.S. citizens living abroad and international citizens living in the U.S. without permanent-resident status should contact Undergraduate Financial Aid if they have questions about what tax/income documents to submit.

Deadlines

Please submit all of the listed 2024–2025 application materials according to the following deadlines:

QuestBridge: November 1, 2023
Early Action: November 1, 2023
Regular Decision: February 15, 2024

Our goal is to provide you with a decision about financial aid at the time that you are admitted. If you miss the deadline, your provisional award information may arrive after your admissions decision. However, you are still eligible to apply for financial aid, and your award will not be reduced because of late submission. The more quickly you complete your file, the sooner you will receive your provisional financial aid decision.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Please note the deadlines listed above. Related documents may be required based on your family's circumstances; you will be notified if such documents are needed.

When submitting forms or documents to Undergraduate Financial Aid, please include the student’s name and date of birth on each page.

Yale's FAFSA code is 001426

Date available: January (possibly sooner)

We do not require the FAFSA for a provisional financial aid decision.

What it is:

A free online application used to determine U.S. citizens' and permanent residents' eligibility for federal and state grants and for the low-interest Federal Direct Loan program.


How to submit it:

Fill out the application on the FAFSA Web site using Yale's FAFSA code: 001426.

The Federal Student Aid office provides helpful short videos on the following topics:

You can also visit the FAFSA Help page for FAQs and contact information.

Tax information entered in the FAFSA may also need to be verified with IRS Data Retrieval or an IRS Tax Return Transcript.

Yale's CSS College Code is 3987

Date available: October 1

What it is:

The CSS Profile collects information used by some colleges and scholarship programs to award institutional aid funds. Institutional aid is a substantial part of the financial aid package for most Yale College students, and the Profile, along with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, is used to determine eligibility for Yale scholarships. The CSS Profile provides more detailed information than the FAFSA and is required for all students applying for a Yale scholarship.

The CSS Profile has a submission fee, but fee waivers are available for eligible first-year students to keep this cost from being a barrier to financial aid. If you feel that the CSS Profile fee would be a financial burden on your family, please read about the CSS Profile fee waiver process.

For more information about the Profile, see the College Board's CSS Profile website.


How to submit it:

• Apply on line on the College Board's website using Yale's CSS College Code: 3987.

• You should gather as much personal financial information as possible before beginning.

• If applicable, families should complete all required CSS supplements as well.

Please note:
• Yale receives your profile data electronically from CSS, so do not send copies or printouts of your application to Yale.

• The CSS Profile provides a fee waiver for first-year U.S. applicants from low-income families with few assets. If you qualify for the waiver, it is processed automatically based on the financial information you enter in the Profile, and no fee will be charged.

What it is:

As part of the 2024–2025 financial aid application, Yale requires copies of 2022 tax returns or, if no tax return was filed, equivalent documentation of 2022 income.

  • If your parents are divorced, separated, or were never married, you must submit copies of both your custodial and noncustodial parents' 2022 tax returns or income documentation.
  • Families with a business or farm must also include the 2022 business or farm tax return(s).

How to submit it:

  • Use the College Board's IDOC Service to submit signed copies of 2022 federal tax returns, including all schedules and W-2s. For more information about the IDOC service, see IDOC under Financial Aid Terminology or visit the College Board website.
  • Students and parents who submitted an amended 2022 federal tax return must also submit a signed copy of the amended return.
  • Parents and students who did not file a tax return must submit a Tax Nonfiling Statement instead. Please visit our Forms page for the appropriate nonfiling statement.

Please note that parents and students will need to submit updated tax documents in future years.

For aid year Tax return required
2023–2024 2021 tax year
2024–2025 2022 tax year
2025–2026 2023 tax year
2026–2027 2024 tax year

Please note:

Yale believes that both parents have a responsibility to contribute toward their child's college education, even if they are divorced or separated. For this reason, we require financial information for both parents to generate a financial aid award. The Yale financial aid award letter lists one total Parent Share, which a student's parents may determine how best to meet.

We understand that some families may have extenuating circumstances that would require an exception. Students may petition to have their noncustodial parent's financial information waived in such cases by submitting a Noncustodial Parent Waiver Petition form with supporting documentation. Submission of a waiver petition form does n​ot guarantee that the noncustodial parent's requirements will be waived.

Note: The CSS Profile has a submission fee. Fee waivers are available for eligible students to prevent this cost from being a barrier to financial aid. If you feel that the CSS Profile fee would be a financial burden on your family, please read about the CSS Profile fee waiver process.

International citizens (including Canadians)

Please note the deadlines listed above. Related documents may be required based on your family's circumstances; you will be notified if such documents are needed.

When submitting forms or documents to Undergraduate Financial Aid, please include the student’s name and date of birth on each page.

Yale's CSS College Code is 3987

Date available: October 1

What it is:

The CSS Profile collects information used by some colleges and scholarship programs to award institutional aid funds. Institutional aid is a substantial part of the financial aid package for most Yale College students, and the Profile, along with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, is used to determine eligibility for Yale scholarships. The CSS Profile provides more detailed information than the FAFSA and is required for all students applying for a Yale scholarship.

The CSS Profile has a submission fee, but fee waivers are available for eligible first-year students to keep this cost from being a barrier to financial aid. If you feel that the CSS Profile fee would be a financial burden on your family, please read about the CSS Profile fee waiver process.

For more information about the Profile, see the College Board's CSS Profile website.

How to submit it:

At Yale we ask our international financial aid applicants to use the online College Board CSS Profile if they are able to do so. This option provides Yale with more accurate and complete financial information, a consistent calculation of ability to pay, and quicker access to financial information without the delay of mailing, sorting, and imaging required for our systems. For those students who are not able to use the online CSS Profile (because of lack of internet access, lack of credit card access, or other financial difficulties), please contact our office.

• Apply on line on the College Board's website using Yale's CSS College Code: 3987.

• You should gather as much personal financial information as possible before beginning.

• If applicable, families should complete all required CSS supplements as well.

Please note:
Yale receives your profile data electronically from CSS, so do not send copies or printouts of your application to Yale.

What it is:

As part of the 2024–2025 financial aid application, Yale requires copies of 2022 tax returns or, if no tax return was filed, equivalent documentation of 2022 income.

  • If your parents are divorced, separated, or were never married, you must submit copies of both your custodial and noncustodial parents' 2022 tax returns or income documentation.
  • Families with a business or farm must also include the 2022 business or farm tax return(s).

How to submit it:

  • Use the College Board's IDOC Service to submit signed copies of 2022 tax returns and/or income documents. For more information about this service, see IDOC under Financial Aid Terminology or visit the College Board website.
  • If the tax returns are in a language other than English, please also provide an English translation of the text. The translation does NOT have to be an official document, and numbers do NOT need to be converted to U.S. currency.
  • Parents who do not file a tax return should submit documentation of their income, such as a letter from their employer.

Please note:

Yale believes that both parents have a responsibility to contribute toward their child's college education, even if they are divorced or separated. For this reason, we require financial information for both parents to generate a financial aid award. The Yale financial aid award letter lists one total Parent Share, which a student's parents may determine how best to meet.

We understand that some families may have extenuating circumstances that would require an exception. Students may petition to have their noncustodial parent's financial information waived in such cases by submitting a Noncustodial Parent Waiver Petition form with supporting documentation. Submission of a waiver petition form does n​ot guarantee that the noncustodial parent's requirements will be waived.

Note: The CSS Profile has a submission fee. Fee waivers are available for eligible students to prevent this cost from being a barrier to financial aid. If you feel that the CSS Profile fee would be a financial burden on your family, please read about the CSS Profile fee waiver process.