Undergraduate Financial Aid

Transfer International Applicants

To be considered for financial assistance at any time during their four years at Brown, transfer international students must apply for and receive University need-based scholarship at the time of admission.

Financial aid application materials allow us to determine a transfer international student’s eligibility for Brown’s institutional financial aid. To receive a provisional financial aid decision with the admission decision, the student must submit all of the required financial aid application materials by the appropriate deadline. 

For more details on financial aid policies at the time of admission for international transfer students, read Brown’s Need-Blind Policy.

In a limited number of isolated and extreme situations, an international student may petition to apply for financial aid, and if approved, submit appeal documentation to our office for consideration. Carefully review the International Student Appeal Policy for full details.

The CSS Profile is available to complete online as of October 1, 2023.

The deadline to complete the CSS Profile is March 1, 2024.

CSS Profile

  • Required for institutional need-based aid
  • Must be submitted by deadline noted above
  • Required from each parent if they are divorced or separated

CSS Code 3189

Start your CSS/PROFILE

  • Because we use the CSS Profile to consider international applicants for any financial aid resources at Brown University, it is important for international students to complete this form to be considered for any aid.
  • Brown does not provide fee waivers for the CSS Profile application. Instead, we rely on the College Board to determine who automatically qualifies for a waiver during the electronic application submission process. When completing the payment process for the CSS Profile, students may find that fees are automatically waived.
  • Our office does not accept the ISFAA form or a paper copy of the CSS Profile in lieu of the electronic CSS Profile.
  • Applicants from the countries of Iran and North Korea cannot use the CSS Profile. Email us at financial_aid@brown.edu for an alternative solution. Be sure to indicate in the email if the student’s parents are divorced, separated or never married.

After filing the CSS Profile, a student may receive an email communication from the College Board providing instructions on how to submit documents through IDOC, if they are deemed necessary.  IDOC requirements may include:

  • 2022 federal income tax return (or non-tax filer statement) for custodial parent(s) 
  • 2022 federal income tax return (or non-tax filer statement) for student 
  • 2022 federal income tax return (or non-tax filer statement) for noncustodial parent, if applicable 
  • A statement from parents' employers documenting 2021 annual earnings (if a tax return is not filed in the student’s country)

College Board's Institutional Documents Service (IDOC)

  • The Office of Financial Aid uses the College Board’s IDOC service to electronically collect tax and other financial documents from families.
  • Brown does not require an IDOC packet from every family. 
  • If you do not receive a request from IDOC, that means the Office of Financial Aid has enough information to provide an estimated financial aid award at the time of admission.  
  • Additional information about IDOC