Application Process

We use two applications to determine full financial aid eligibility at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and CSS Profile. Read below to find out more about how they are used.

FAFSA Instructions:

• The FAFSA is used to offer federal financial aid based on financial need and eligibility.
• Complete the FAFSA using UNC-Chapel Hill’s school code: 002974.
• Obtain your FSA ID, which serves as a digital signature to complete the FAFSA and sign electronically. Contributors are required to sign electronically and each contributor will also need an FSA ID.
• The FSA ID will be used for future years. Be sure to keep track of your information.
• Determine which parent to use on the FAFSA. For questions regarding dependency status, see here.

FAFSA

CSS Profile Instructions:

• To be considered for need based University grants and scholarships, incoming students should complete the CSS Profile using UNC-Chapel Hill’s school code: 5816. College Board offers a tutorial to walk you through the CSS Profile. The CSS profile does require a fee to complete.
• You can complete the CSS Profile for free if:
  • Your family adjusted gross income is up to $100,000
  • You qualify for an SAT waiver
  • You are an orphan or ward of the court under the age of 24
  • If you don’t qualify and are experiencing a hardship to pay the fee, please reach out to our office.
• The CSS Profile will also be used to determine CCI laptop grant eligibility as Carolina students are required to have a laptop.
• You will only complete the CSS Profile the first year as long as you remain enrolled and do not have a significant change in your financial situation.
• UNC-Chapel Hill does not require non-custodial parent information on the CSS Profile, you do not need to request a waiver.

CSS Profile

To get an early estimate of what your aid at Carolina may look like based on these applications before you are admitted you can use our Net Price Calculator (NPC). The calculator will collect the same information as the above applications and give you an aid offer estimate based on the information you put in.

aid restrictions

Restrictions on financial aid apply if you are:

• Seeking a second bachelor’s degree
  • If you have already earned a bachelor’s degree, you will only be eligible for federal loans. The amount of loan eligibility will depend on loan limits and dependency.
• Enrolled in a certificate program
  • Aid eligible certificate programs are limited to:
    • Radiography
• Not seeking a degree
  • If you are admitted with non-degree seeking status, you are not eligible to receive federal or University aid.
  • If you are taking required pre-requisite coursework, your department chair or admissions director may be able to complete a pre-requisite form to consider you for aid.
    • If you have an approved form, you must be enrolled in at least six credit hours and will only be considered for loan eligibility.
• Enrolled at more than one institution
  • You may only receive aid at one institution at a time, at your home institution. Your home institution is defined as the school in which are admitted as a degree-seeking student and the school from which you will earn your degree.