Student Financial Services

Financial Aid for 2025–2026

File a FAFSA

We urge every Purchase College student to file a FAFSA. Our school code is 006791.

The recent FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–25 award year.

The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will simplify the process for students by asking fewer questions and allowing for the seamless upload of information from the IRS.

How Will This Affect Me?

The release of the new FAFSA has been delayed. Typically, the FAFSA is available on October 1; however, this year, it was not released until December 31. There have been additional delays in sending information to colleges and universities.

As you can imagine, once the information is processed and sent, colleges and universities will need time to implement fully and test their systems to account for the sweeping changes.

Unfortunately, this will result in students receiving their award letters later than usual. Please note: this impacts all schools nationwide and is not unique to Purchase.

The Office of Student Financial Services is working with SUNY and the U.S. Department of Education to prepare to process awards as quickly as possible once FAFSA information becomes available for the 2024-25 academic year.

The types of financial aid available vary from state to state and may include scholarships, grants, and loans. States establish the eligibility criteria for their aid programs. A common criterion is state residency.

Below are the applications for New York State Residents:

1. NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) 
   
   • Our school code is 0970, and we are listed as SUC at Purchase.
   • Completing a FAFSA generates an express TAP application that you can complete online.
2. NYS DREAM ACT
3. Alternate Eligibility Path
4. NYS Excelsior Scholarship program

Many colleges offer institutional aid and generally award it at their discretion. Purchase College does award scholarship funding. There is no separate application, and students are reviewed upon admittance for scholarship funding.

 Institutional Scholarships

A final source of financial aid is private aid, available from individuals or groups such as community or civic organizations, associations, clubs, churches, foundations, and businesses. Private aid donors often develop their own application and eligibility criteria and procedures.