The Office of Financial Aid emails admitted first-year students with an estimate of their Financial Aid typically beginning in February. This estimate is personalized based on your financial aid eligibility at CU Boulder. Once you've received this estimate, take some time review it, think about your college costs and consider your options for the year ahead. Here are some planning resources to help you understand your financial aid estimate:
- Learn how aid is determined
- Get the basics on grants and federal loans
- Learn how to be considered for work-study
- Consider an on-campus job
- Use the Repayment Estimator to calculate your monthly loan payments after you graduate
- Review other options for paying for college
- Watch some how-to videos in the video gallery
- Still have questions? Check out our FAQs
What happens next?
Additional information
We'll email you if we need additional information to finalize your financial aid application. Submit any requested documents as soon as possible so you don’t miss out on any aid.
Financial aid
If you don't have any outstanding items, you'll receive an email from our office in late March notifying you that your financial aid offer is ready for you to view online and accept/decline. Grants, scholarships and work-study are automatically accepted for you, but loans must be accepted in your student portal. You'll be required to complete loan entrance counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN) if you choose to accept loans.
How we communicate with you
As early as May, you'll have access to Buff Portal and your official @colorado.edu email address. It's important to check both of these regularly. We send emails and assign ‘To Do’ items in the portal to notify you when we need additional information.
