Financial Aid Information for the Combined Plan Program

Combined Plan Program Financial Aid

For U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, Persons granted refugee visas by the U.S., and Mexican and Canadian Citizens:

• Columbia is need-blind, meaning an applicant’s financial need does not affect his or her chances of admission.
• Columbia will meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for Combined Plan Program students with an award that is comprised of University grant and a work-study job.
• Need is determined after students and parents have completed the FAFSA, CSS Profile and submitted most recent copies of their Federal Tax Return and W-2 statements.

For international students:

• Columbia is also need-blind for international students applying to the Combined Plan Program, meaning an applicant's financial need does not affect his or her chances of admission.
• Financial aid for is available for foreign students, but it is very limited. Students may be granted admission to the Combined Plan program, but are not guaranteed funding.
• If financial aid is awarded, it is guaranteed for the two years needed to complete the requirements for the engineering degree.
• If financial aid is not awarded at the time of admission, it will not be awarded for any subsequent years.
• There is an expectation that a student secures loans from non-University sources to supplement their Columbia University grant. In many cases, a student must find an American citizen to co-sign for these loans. Unfortunately, there are no institutional funds for international students whose circumstances change or whose sponsor/co-signer fails to provide support.

Helpful Financial Aid Hints

• Be sure to meet all deadlines. Your financial aid award cannot be calculated until all application materials have been received.
• Documents can be faxed to 212-854-5353.
• Print the student's name and Columbia ID # on all documents that you send to the Office of Financial Aid and Educational Financing.
• Do not send any documents to the College Board IDOC processing center. All first-time applicants for Columbia financial aid must send their documents directly to the Office of Financial Aid and Educational Financing.
• If you have any questions about financial aid, please contact the Combined Plan Financial Aid Coordinator by phone at 212-854-3711 or by e-mail at ugrad-finaid@columbia.edu.