Your guide to affording a Rochester education.

Federal Student Aid and the Biden-Harris Administration have announced loan forgiveness plans of up to $20,000 for prior Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for all other federal loan borrowers. The relief includes current students and borrowers who have federally-held undergraduate, graduate, and Parent PLUS loans that have been fully disbursed by June 30, 2022. To be eligible, borrower’s annual income must be below $125,000 (individuals) and $250,000 (married couples/head of households). Borrowers who were dependent students in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years will be eligible for relief based on parental income rather than their own income.

The forgiveness plan is currently paused and pending court review. New applications are not being accepted. Students can still sign up for updates through the subscription page linked below.

Borrowers can view their loan balances and check their Pell Grant status by logging into their Federal Student Aid account online at studentaid.gov. Please visit studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/ for the most up-to-date information.

If you would like to be notified by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) when the application is open, please sign up at the Department of Education subscription page.  The student debt relief is a one-time, pandemic-related loan cancellation, according to ED.

Learn more about the forgiveness plans through ED’s fact sheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/24/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-student-loan-relief-for-borrowers-who-need-it-most/

The application deadline for returning students for the 2023–2024 academic year was March 15, 2023. Instructions are being emailed to students and reminders will continue to be sent bi-weekly to those students with incomplete applications.

Returning undergraduates who have not submitted their application with all supporting documentation by this deadline are not guaranteed full consideration for need-based University grant assistance and may have their institutional aid reduced due to limited funding.

Read more about our late policy in the FA Handbook. Please contact your financial aid counselor if you have concerns about submitting your application materials in a timely manner.

Select undergraduate students are required to submit additional paperwork the College Board’s IDOC service. If you’re required to submit your application via IDOC, you should send all required paper documents directly to the College Board and not the Financial Aid Office. Instructions can be found by logging in to your FAOnline account and reviewing the Required Document screen. If you have questions, please contact your financial aid counselor.