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Making Sense of Financial Aid
Learn about the differences between various offers of student aid; how to evaluate those offers; and questions to ask before accepting a particular aid package.
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The Myths of Financial Aid
A discussion with the Director and Associate Director of Student Aid at Bowdoin.
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2009-10 Filing Instructions for First Year Financial Aid Applicants

  1. COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP SERVICE (CSS) PROFILE ON-LINE
  2. FREE APPLICATION for FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)
  3. PARENT AND STUDENT FEDERAL INCOME TAX FORMS, W-2 FORMS and TRUST DOCUMENTS
  4. SEPARATED or DIVORCED PARENTS
  5. CANADIAN PARENTS AND STUDENTS
  6. OTHER INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
  7. TRANSFER STUDENTS
  8. STATE SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT
  9. LOCAL MERIT AWARDS and EMPLOYER TUITION BENEFITS
  10. CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT
  11. EDUCATIONAL LOANS FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS
  12. AWARD NOTIFICATION

Candidates for first year financial aid should submit the 2009-10 CSS Profile and federal FAFSA to Bowdoin in accordance with published deadlines. The most important document for most Bowdoin applicants is the 2009-10 CSS Profile. Copies of federal income taxes should NOT be submitted to Bowdoin, unless specifically requested on a case by case basis. Data submitted on the Profile and FAFSA will be verified against 2008 federal income tax returns for all matriculating students in May, and awards will be adjusted if income information is misreported.

Submission of applications for student financial aid at Bowdoin carries with it an implicit responsibility to insure that answers to all questions are accurate at the time of filing. This responsibility extends to financial entries researched and compiled by financial advisors and tax preparers on your behalf. Before signing and submitting financial aid forms to Bowdoin, be sure that your answers and entries correctly address the language and intent of the questions posed on the CSS Profile and federal FAFSA and that they conform to information provided by your employers, banks and brokerage firms.

1. COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP SERVICE (CSS) PROFILE ON-LINE

Candidates for financial aid who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States must file the 2009-10 College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile to be eligible for Bowdoin grant and Bowdoin loan support. Candidates for financial aid who are citizens of other countries (except Canada) should follow the instructions in Section 7 of these instructions. Canadian citizens should follow the filing instructions in Section 6 of these instructions. U.S. citizens are required to complete an on-line version of the CSS Profile to expedite electronic processing and data transfer. CSS charges a fee for processing the Profile. Lower income families may be eligible for an automatic fee waiver, based on answers to initial questions. Bowdoin has no authority to grant fee waivers. Families with questions about which forms to file may click here for further clarification.

The CSS Profile can be found at www.collegeboard.com. Please read the Profile instructions carefully and provide precisely what the instructions require. Be sure to specify Bowdoin College code 3089 to electronically transmit the results to the Bowdoin student aid office.

We suggest that you record your Profile number and PIN and keep a reference copy of your completed Profile.

2. FREE APPLICATION for FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

The FAFSA is the federal application used to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid, including Pell Grants, and your eligibility for the federal interest subsidy under the Stafford Loan program. FAFSA filing is free. The FAFSA should not be submitted before January 1, 2009. Be sure to enter Bowdoin's school code 002038 to route the data electronically to Bowdoin.

You do not need to complete your 2008 income tax forms before you submit the FAFSA. Estimates are acceptable and meeting published deadlines for the colleges to which you apply is the most important consideration for first-year applicants. Once you complete your 2008 federal income tax returns, you can CORRECT FAFSA ENTRIES on-line following the instructions provided on the Student Aid Report (SAR). If entries on the FAFSA are inconsistent with entries on your tax return, Bowdoin will correct these differences when your 2008 income taxes are later submitted to Bowdoin through the electronic IDOC system (section 3). Data differences may result in changes to your eligibility for Pell Grant, Stafford loan interest subsidy and other federal programs.

Most families complete the FAFSA on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You will be asked to register for a federal PIN number. Be careful not to confuse the free FAFSA website with a for-profit site at fafsa.com that charges up to $100 to file the form for you.

Once completed, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that can be used to correct information or provide additional information that may have delayed the determination of a valid Expected Family Contribution (EFC). If you do not generate a valid EFC, you must continue to work on-line with the federal processor to resolve the discrepancy and provide the required information.

We suggest you record your FAFSA User ID and PIN and keep a reference copy of your completed FAFSA.

3. PARENT AND STUDENT FEDERAL INCOME TAX FORMS ,W-2s and TRUST DOCUMENTS

Bowdoin does not automatically collect federal income tax returns for first year applicants.. Bowdoin collects federal income tax returns on a case by case basis. Please do not submit income tax returns to Bowdoin, unless specifically asked to do so. After May 1, Bowdoin contracts with the College Scholarship Service’s Imaging and Documentation Service (IDOC) to collect and image 2008 student and parent tax returns from all families who accept our offer of admission. We verify entries against comparable tax data and we adjust grant awards in cases where underestimations of income occur.

Students and parents electing NOT to file a federal income tax return must still submit copies of their Forms W-2 along with a written statement of their non-filing status.

Students and parents who are beneficiaries of trust funds (other than Uniform Gift to Minor Act trusts) should submit a copy of the Trust Tax Form 1041, the beneficiary’s K-1 form, the year-end investment account statement for the trust assets, and a copy of the trust instrument governing the management of the trust by the Trustee.

4. SEPARATED or DIVORCED PARENTS

Instructions associated with the CSS Profile and the FAFSA state that the custodial parent, the parent with whom the student resides for more than six months of the previous twelve months, is responsible for providing parent information on the Profile and FAFSA. Financial information of stepparents must also be included.

Bowdoin routinely collects income and asset information from separated or divorced parents. In such cases, income and asset information is not automatically excluded from consideration, nor is the College bound in the awarding of its private funds by family agreement or court orders. Student aid administrators carefully examine family structure and individual circumstances; the expectation of non-custodial support has more to do with economic ability to support college costs than willingness or unwillingness to do so.

Non-custodial parents are asked to file the CSS Noncustodial Profile directly with the College Scholarship Service. We may request a tax return from the non-custodial parent. We do not discuss non-custodial parent financial information with the student or student’s custodial parent.

We suggest that the non-custodial parent keep a reference copy of this statement.

5. CANADIAN PARENTS AND STUDENTS

Canadian families should download the "Canadian Financial Aid Form, 2009-2010" directly from Bowdoin's website, complete it in Canadian dollars and fax it to 207-725-3864. Complete copies of both parents' Canadian federal tax returns (not provincial returns), including business tax returns, and all T-4 forms should also be faxed to Bowdoin. Financial aid awards for Canadian families are tentative until 2008 federal tax returns have been submitted to Bowdoin. Awards are subject to change based on receipt of tax information.

Canadian business owners should download the "Canadian Business Supplement, 2009-10" from the Bowdoin website and fax it to Bowdoin at 207-725-3864.

All figures should be entered in Canadian dollars. These figures will be converted to US dollars for need analysis purposes using the prevailing exchange rate at the time our need analysis is performed. Bowdoin does not amend financial aid awards during the year for fluctuations in exchange rates.

Canadian citizens are not eligible for U.S. federal assistance, unless dual citizenship has been established and verified. Therefore, Canadian families need not complete and submit the FAFSA. Dual citizens are required to file the FAFSA (see earlier FAFSA instructions).

Canadian applicants are expected to apply for available provincial scholarships and bursaries. Please check with your provincial departments of education to determine availability and eligibility. Like state scholarships in the U.S., provincial scholarships become part of your financial aid award and substitute for previously awarded Bowdoin grant.

Canadian students are offered campus jobs in the same amounts as U.S students. Canadian parents are not eligible for federal PLUS Loans, but may qualify for parent loan assistance through The Education Resources Institute (TERI). For information, please visit their web site at http://teri.org/loan-center.

We suggest you keep a reference copy of the Canadian Financial Aid Form.

6. OTHER INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International (non-Canadian) students seeking assistance from Bowdoin must file the "International Financial Aid Form, 2009-10" and the "International Business Supplement, 2009-10," if needed, directly with Bowdoin in accordance with published deadlines. Entries should be in U.S dollars. Do not complete the CSS Profile or the FAFSA.

International students and parents should also submit certified income statements directly to the Bowdoin student aid office with entries annotated in U.S. dollars.

Families with questions about which forms to file may click here for further clarification.

International students who do not file for financial aid at the time of admission will not be eligible for college grant and loan support in subsequent years at Bowdoin.

We suggest you keep a reference copy of the financial aid application.

7. TRANSFER STUDENTS

Transfer applicants for fall enrollment should file financial aid forms by March 1. Spring transfer applicants should file by November 15. Awards will depend on receipt of an official financial aid transcript and available Bowdoin resources.

8. STATE SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT

Many Bowdoin students are eligible for home state scholarship support while enrolled at Bowdoin. Depending on reciprocity agreements with the state of Maine, your home state may be willing to send these important funds to Bowdoin in support of your educational costs. As a financial aid applicant, you are required to apply for state scholarship support by submitting the free federal FAFSA and transmitting this data to the state scholarship agency for processing.

Voter registration in a state other than your home state may result in ineligibility for this state scholarship support. Bowdoin will not subsidize such an election with its grant resources, so be sure to check with officials at your state scholarship agency to avoid loss of these funds. Bowdoin is not responsible for state scholarship ineligibility because of late or improper completion of the FAFSA.

The following states support resident families with sons or daughters attending Bowdoin: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Students with official residence in these states must apply for these scholarship programs in accordance with published deadlines. In most cases, filing the FAFSA by February will accomplish this task.

9. LOCAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS and EMPLOYER TUITUION BENEFITS

At Bowdoin students are not required to report receipt of merit scholarships to the Student Aid Office. In most cases, these awards must be mailed for endorsement to the Bowdoin Bursar’s Office. The Bursar then informs Student Aid when the money is received by the College.

As a matter of practice, local merit scholarships sent to Bowdoin are posted to a student’s account in the Bursar’s Office as a credit against billed charges. Essentially, this money reduces the amount parents are expected to pay each semester. In most cases, it does not go directly to students to pay for books or personal expenses. In deference to the merit-nature of the scholarship, some parents decide to contribute an equal amount of their own money toward the student’s personal expenses, but we don’t think this is necessary if students work each summer and work during the academic year to afford these costs on their own (see Section 11).

In most cases, previously awarded financial aid is not affected by the receipt of these local merit scholarships. Bowdoin has a generous scholarship integration policy that attempts to recognize merit and benefit the family as much a possible.

 In a few cases, when scholarships are large or a financial aid award includes some form of federal grant, federal loan or interest subsidy, federal over-award provisions require us to substitute some of this scholarship money for previously awarded need-based grant aid. Each case is different and depends of the mix of funds, the degree of calculated “need,” and the total amount of scholarship money received by the student.

 Employer tuition assistance paid to Bowdoin as an employee benefit is not a merit scholarship. Employer tuition assistance supplements (not replaces) the calculated parental contribution in the determination of need-based aid at Bowdoin.

10. CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT

Students wishing to work on campus may use the services of the Student Employment Office to research campus job opportunities and file the appropriate employment forms. For help, you may call the student employment staff at 207-725-3386 or you may email us at studentemployment@bowdoin.edu. You may also visit the student employment website www.bowdoin.edu/seo.

11. EDUCATIONAL LOANS for students and parents

The Bowdoin trustees eliminated student loans from Bowdoion financial aid offers in 2008. Asa result, calculated need is fully met with grant. This means that most students will graduate debt free. Some students may wish to borrow from the federal Stafford loan program to help parents pay the bill. 

Bowdoin does not recommend specific lenders, but cautions parents to seek help first from federal programs like Stafford and PLUS. Interest rates are lower and borrower benefits may be more generous with federal (rather than private) loans.

12. AWARD NOTIFICATION

Award decisions are mailed with the letter of admission.

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