FAFSA Update: The 2024-2025 FAFSA is available to complete online. Due to Federal delays in releasing FAFSA information, Northeastern will require additional time to process your offer of financial assistance. Please visit our FAFSA Updates Page for more information and timely announcements.

College of Professional Studies

Next Steps

Now that you have applied for financial aid and received your Offer of Financial Assistance, there may be some additional requirements to finalize your financial aid award. Please review the information provided below to ensure you have completed all required steps and understand the terms of your award.

Awarding Policies

Accepting Your Award

You are not required to officially accept the financial aid that has been offered to you. 

However, if you are borrowing a Federal Direct Loan for the first time, you will need to complete the following documents for the loan to disburse to your student account. These documents only need to be completed once; in subsequent years loan funds will disburse automatically. 

  • Entrance Counseling: A federal requirement for all Federal Direct Loan recipients, Entrance Counseling provides you with information about your rights and responsibilities as a borrower, interest rates, repayment plans, and more. To complete Entrance Counseling and log into studentaid.gov, you will need your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). Once you have logged in, select “Complete Loan Counseling” and choose the option for “Entrance Counseling”. If you do not have your FSA ID, instructions will be provided on how to create one. 
  • Federal Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN): The MPN is a legal document in which you promise to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees. To complete your MPN, use the instructions above to log into studentaid.gov, select “Complete Loan Agreement for a Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan (MPN)”. 

Declining Your Award

If you wish to cancel or reduce the loan funds that have been offered, please submit your request through the SFS Service Portal.

Please note that federal loans may only be cancelled on a student’s behalf up to 14 days after disbursement.

Changes in Enrollment

Your Offer of Financial Assistance is based upon an estimated amount of credits for each academic quarter or semester. If there are any changes in your anticipated course load, please complete the CPS Credit Change form. To access this form, login to your myNortheastern, choose “Services & Links”, and “My Financial Aid Status” under “Student Financial Services”. Please note, if you are a new student, you must first complete your Title IV Credit Authorization form (located in your “My Financial Aid Status” portal, under “Apply Online”). After you submit your Title IV Credit Authorization form, click on “Home” and the CPS Credit Change information will appear.

Changes to your enrollment plans can affect the initial financial aid that was offered. It is the student’s responsibility to notify us if the actual amount of credits taken will be different than what was used to calculate the award. Notifying our office will allow us to review your aid eligibility and provide you with accurate financial aid amounts.

Please note, the amount of financial aid provided in your Offer of Financial Assistance is awarded assuming you will participate in your courses for the entire enrollment period. If you are unable to remain enrolled for any reason, a portion (or all) of your financial aid will be returned to the federal government.

Eligibility for College of Professional Studies Students

To maintain eligibility for federal student aid, you must meet the following criteria:

  • Be enrolled in at least 6 credits per term, applicable towards a degree program 
  • Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen 
  • Be matriculated in a degree-granting program (online or on ground) 
  • Have received your high school diploma or G.E.D. 
  • Not be in default from previous student loans or owe an overpayment on federal grant, and 
  • Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress 
  • Earn at least one A-D letter grade each term. Failure to do so may require us to return a portion of your financial aid funds. 

*Please note, some graduate programs only offer 3 credit classes. If this is the case with your program, you still need to be in at least 4 credits to qualify for federal financial aid. All undergraduate programs require a minimum of 6 credits per term to receive federal student loans.

Federal Verification Process

Approximately one-third of all financial aid applicants are selected by either the U.S. Department of Education or Northeastern’s Office of Student Financial Services to verify the accuracy of information provided on the FAFSA. You will be notified by email if you have been selected. If you are a new student, your offer of assistance is tentative pending the completion of the verification process. If you are a returning student, you will not receive a financial aid award letter until the verification process is complete.

Should the verified financial information differ significantly from the original information provided on the FAFSA, your aid may have to be adjusted. Please be sure to respond to requests for follow-up documentation in a timely manner to avoid delays in applying your financial aid as a credit to your student account.

If selected for verification, documentation may be required from students and/or parents who are listed on the FAFSA. Please only submit the documents requested; required documents will be listed on your Student Hub or requested in writing by our office.

Please note, you may be asked to submit additional documentation along with the items listed below.

If you filed a U.S. Tax Return

  • Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to update your FAFSA with the appropriate income and tax information or
  • Submit a copy of your IRS Tax Return Transcript

If you did not file a U.S. Tax Return or foreign tax return

  • Submit the Non-Filer Tax Statement
  • Submit copies of all W-2s, if applicable, for income earned by the non-filer
  • Request an IRS Verification of Non-Filing Letter for each individual who did not file a tax return (beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year)

If you filed an amended tax return

  • Submit a signed copy of the 1040-X form that was filed with the IRS and
  • An IRS Tax Return Transcript that includes information from the original tax return

Note: if you amended your tax return (filed a 1040-X), you will not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.

Instructions to use the IRS Data Retrieval are provided while completing the FAFSA or filing a correction. Certain data elements such as AGI and taxes paid will be entered for you on the FAFSA.

Student Financial Services strongly encourages students and parents to use this option when initially completing the FAFSA or when making a correction after the required tax returns have been filed.

In order to use the IRS Data Retrieval process, you must have:

  • Filed a federal tax return at least 2 weeks (if filing electronically) and 6-8 weeks (if filing a paper return) before using the IRS Data Retrieval Process to allow time for the IRS to process the return
  • You must have a valid Social Security Number
  • You must have a Federal Student Aid ID

You will not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval process if:

  • Your marital status changes after December 31 of the same tax year.
  • You filed married filing separately
  • You filed an amended return
  • You filed a foreign tax return

An official tax transcript will be required for tax filers who are not able to use the IRS Data Retrieval process or make changes to FAFSA data after using this process.

Tax filers should NOT request to have their IRS Tax Transcript mailed directly to Northeastern University as it may not contain the necessary identifying student information. Tax return transcripts can be requested, free of charge, in one of the following three ways:

Online Request

  • Go to the IRS website
  • Click “Get Transcript ONLINE”
  • New users will need to create an account using:
    • Their Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (PTIN)
    • Date of birth
    • Street address as used on the tax return
    • Zip code
  • A password will be sent to the user directly. Once logged in, select the reason for requesting the transcript as “Higher Education/Student Aid” then select tax year ‘2018’ for the 2020-2021 FAFSA (do not select record of account transcript)
  • Your tax return transcript will appear as a PDF. If you have pop-ups disabled, you may need to enable them for the IRS website to view your transcript.
  • If the “Get Transcript by MAIL” option is selected, tax payers will need to enter the tax filer’s Social Security Number, date of birth, street address, and zip or postal code. If successfully validated, tax filers can expect to receive a paper IRS Tax Return Transcript at the address included in their online request within 5-10 business days from the time the request was successfully transmitted to the IRS.

IRS Tax Return Transcripts requested online cannot be sent directly to a third party by the IRS.

Telephone Request

  • Call the IRS at 1.800.908.9946
  • Tax filers must follow prompts to enter their Social Security Number and the numbers in their street address. Generally, this will be the address listed on the latest tax return filed. However, if an address change has been completed through the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS may have the updated address on file.
  • Select ‘Option 2’ to request an IRS Tax Return Transcript and then enter ‘2018’
  • If successfully validated, tax filers can expect to receive a paper IRS Tax Return Transcript at the address used in their telephone request, within 5-10 days from the time the IRS receives the request.

IRS Tax Return Transcripts requested by telephone cannot be sent directly to a third party by the IRS.

Paper Request Form

  • IRS Form 4506T-EZ should be used instead of IRS Form 4506-T because it is sufficient to request an IRS Tax Return Transcript
  • Download the form
  • Complete lines 1 through 4, following the instructions on page 2 of the form. Note that line 3 should be the most current address on file with the IRS. It is the address where the IRS Tax Return Transcript will be sent. If the address has recently changed, include the address listed on the latest tax return filed on line 4. However, if an address change has been completed through the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS may have the updated address on file.
  • Line 5 provides tax filers with the option to have their IRS Tax Return Transcript mailed directly to a third party by the IRS
  • On line 6, enter ‘2018’ to receive IRS tax information for the 2018 tax year that is required for the 2020-2021 FAFSA.
  • The tax filers (or spouse if requesting information from a joint tax return) must sign and date the form and enter their telephone number. Only one signature is required to request a transcript for a joint return.
  • Mail or fax the completed IRS Form 4506T-EZ to the appropriate address or fax number provided on page 2 of the form.
  • Tax filers can expect to receive their transcript within 5 to 10 days from the time the IRS receives and processes their signed request. Note: processing form 4506T-EZ means verifying and validating the information provided on the form. If any information does not match the IRS records, the IRS will notify the tax filer that it was not able to provide the transcript.

An IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter provides proof that the IRS has no record of a filed Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ for the year you requested.

IRS Verification of Non-filing Letters can be requested, free of charge, in one of the following three ways:

Online Request

  • Go to the IRS website.
  • Click “Get Transcript ONLINE”.
  • New users will need to create an account using:
    • Their Social Security Number or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)
    • Date of birth
    • Street address as used on the tax return
    • Zip code
  • A password will be sent to the user directly. Once logged in, select the reason for requesting the transcript as “Higher Education/Student Aid”.
  • Click on the tax year needed under “Verification of Non-filing Letter”. For the 2018-2019 academic year, you will need the 2018 tax year.

IRS Verification of Non-filing Letters requested online cannot be sent directly to a third party by the IRS.

Telephone Request

  • Call the IRS at 1.800.908.9946.
  • Non-filers must follow prompts to enter their Social Security Number and the numbers in their street address. Generally, this will be the address listed on the latest tax return filed. However, if an address change has been completed through the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS may have the updated address on file.
  • Select ‘Option 2’ to request an IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter. For the 2020-2021 academic year, you will need the 2018 tax year.
  • If successfully validated, non-filers can expect to receive a paper IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter at the address used in their telephone request, within 5-10 days from the time the IRS receives the request.

IRS Verification of Non-filing Letters requested by telephone cannot be sent directly to a third party by the IRS.

Paper Request Form

  • Download IRS Form 4506-T.
  • Complete lines 1 through 4, following the instructions on page 2 of the form. Note that line 3 should be the most current address on file with the IRS. It is the address where the IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter will be sent. If the address has recently changed, include the address listed on the latest tax return filed on line 4. However, if an address change has been completed through the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS may have the updated address on file.
  • Line 5 provides non-filers with the option to have their IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter mailed directly to a third party by the IRS.
  • On line 7, select the checkbox on the right hand side for “Verification of Nonfiling”.
  • On line 9, “Year or period requested”, enter 12/31/2018 for the 2020-2021 academic year.
  • The non-filer must sign and date the form and enter their telephone number. Only one signature is required when requesting a joint IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter.
  • Mail or fax the completed IRS Form 4506-T to the appropriate address or fax number provided on page 2 of the form.
  • Non-filers can expect to receive their Verification of Non-filing Letter within 5 to 10 days from the time the IRS receives and processes their signed request.

If you are selected for verification, you will receive an email communication with instructions on how to submit your documents.