Undergraduate Financial Aid

Need-Blind Information for Transfer Applicants

Need-blind information for U.S. citizens and permanent Residents, international and undocumented transfer applicants

Transfer students are admitted to Brown under a need-aware admission policy, meaning an applicant's ability to pay is factored into the admission decision. To be considered for financial assistance at any time during their undergraduate years at Brown, a transfer student must apply for financial aid when they initially apply for admission. Students who do not complete an application for financial assistance with their initial admission application will not be considered for University Scholarship at any point during their undergraduate years at Brown, regardless of any changes in their family’s financial situation. 

Transfer students can submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), to be considered for any federal/state grants and loans for which they qualify, regardless of whether they applied for financial aid at the time of admission. The Office of Financial Aid will continue to assist admitted transfer students in their efforts to obtain loans and federal/state aid.

All students may consider private loans. International students may need a U.S. co-signer.

International Transfer Applicants

International students admitted through the transfer process will only be considered for need based assistance (both scholarship and loan) if they applied for AND received scholarship assistance at the time of admission, regardless of any changes in your family’s circumstances. International applicants who do not apply for financial aid at the time of admission are not eligible to receive any other need-based financial aid.

Brown will not offer scholarship assistance or loan funding to replace lost sponsorship dollars. If you have a sponsor and are uncertain of the sponsor’s commitment, be sure to have an alternate means of financing in place prior to committing to enrollment at Brown.

If you enter the University as an international student without scholarship assistance and become a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident in a later year,  you can not be considered for scholarship assistance in later years. However, if you become a U.S Citizen or permanent resident in a later year, you can apply for federal loans, federal grants and work-study by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Undocumented Applicants

Undocumented or DACA transfer students interested in receiving need-based financial aid from Brown must indicate their interest in financial aid as part of their admission application.  If an undocumented or DACA student is admitted to Brown and is determined to have demonstrated financial aid need, Brown will award the student with Brown financial aid funds to meet this need.  These funds may include University need-based scholarship, campus employment, and, if appropriate, an institutional loan.

If an undocumented or DACA transfer student does not indicate on his/her admission application that he/she is interested in receiving need-based aid from Brown and is admitted, he/she will not be able to receive need-based financial aid during any of their time at Brown.

If an undocumented or DACA transfer student is admitted without financial aid, but becomes a US citizen or Permanent Resident while at Brown, he/she will be able to apply for and, if eligible, receive need-based financial aid.