Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some commonly asked questions by students and parents. If you have more questions, please email us.
Below are some commonly asked questions by students and parents. If you have more questions, please email us.
Visit the Tuition Due Dates page for the most up to date due date information.
Please note that submission of an appeal does not grant an extension of the bill due date. All student accounts must be paid in full by the stated due dates even if an appeal is in process. If you have any questions regarding the appeal process or would like to discuss payment plans, private loans or other bill payment options while waiting on an appeal response, please contact us at 781-736-3700.
Electronic payments are made through your Nelnet Student Account Portal. This can be accessed either through Workday in the 'Student Account' section or through the Nelnet Campus Commerce login page. Anyone other than the student should be added by the student as an Authorized Payer in the student’s Nelnet Student Account and may make payments through the Nelnet Campus Commerce login page using their Authorized Payer log-in credentials. Authorized Payers should not log in as the student.
Once in the Nelnet account, you will see a link to "Make a Payment." The Credit/Debit cards accepted are Discover, MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. Processing fees do apply for credit card payments and are displayed before you submit your payment. No fees apply to the direct withdrawal from checking/savings accounts (e-check). Returned payments are subject to the $30 returned check fee.
Personal checks can be sent directly to Brandeis at the address below. We can also accept checks in person at our office. If we are not open at the time, you may place the check in the red box near our door, which will drop it into a secure safe until someone can process it.
Brandeis University529 Plan checks (mailed by First Class Mail only) should include the student's name and 8-digit Sage ID and can be sent to our bank's payment processing center at:
Brandeis University
POST OFFICE
P.O. Box 28197
New York, NY 10087-8197
E-payments and Payment Plans made while we are closed will post automatically and holds will be removed daily. Checks mailed to Brandeis and the Lockbox address in NewYork will not be posted or hold removed until we return from break on Jan. 2.
Brandeis partners with Nelnet to offer a monthly payment plan to families as a method to spread the cost of a semester over several months. Payments are required to be made on the scheduled due date, in the methods allowed by Nelnet, and must be paid directly to Nelnet. Enrollment in the monthly payment plan will be through the Nelnet Student Account Portal and will be available each Fall and Spring semester once the email notification of the bill is sent out.
Brandeis has partnered with Flywire and Convera, (previously known as Western Union Business Solutions) to provide our international students with an easy and secure method to send international payments in your home currency through your Nelnet Student Account Portal. Once you select the "Make a Payment" link, you can select "International Payment" and go to Flywire or Convera.
All wire payments should be initiated through the Nelnet Student Account Portal link so the payment will post automatically to your account when it is received by Flywire or Convera.
Although we still accept paper checks, we encourage families to pay by echeck (no fees apply and there are no postage costs) via the Student Account Center. All checks must be drawn from a U.S. bank and be payable in U.S. dollars to Brandeis University. Personal or 529 Plan checks (mailed by First Class Mail only) should include the student's name and 8-digit Sage ID and can be sent to our bank's payment processing center at:
Brandeis University
POST OFFICE
P.O. Box 28197
New York, NY 10087-8197
Correspondence, third party checks, and Priority Mail, Express Mail, FedEx, UPS or other courier mail, should not be sent to the New York address.
529 Plans payments cannot be used towards monthly payment plans. 529 Plan withdrawals should sent to Brandeis as a one-time semester payment by the published semester due date. If the 529 Plan payment does not cover the semester balance in full, any remaining balance may be budgeted on a monthly payment plan.
Mail requiring signatures, tracking or proof of delivery as well as payments from third-party sponsors or scholarship organizations should be sent directly to the Office of Student Financial Services at:
Brandeis University
Office of Student Financial Services
Usdan Student Center, MS 027
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Checks, money orders and travelers checks are also accepted in the Office of Student Financial Services in Usdan Student Center. Cash payments exceeding $9,999 must be reported to the IRS and will require you to submit proof of identity. Until further notice, Brandeis will not be accepting cash payments.
In Workday, students can click on the Student Account worklet and then the Nelnet Student Account Portal link to see the line item charges for the semester. Parents or other individuals you wish to see the bill must be sent up as an authorized party in Nelnet.
For students entering fall 2025 and beyond, the Brandeis Commitment provides families within the specified income ranges below a generous scholarship package covering either full or half tuition.
| Total Income Range | Total Grants and Scholarships |
|---|---|
| $75,000 or below | Full Tuition |
| $75,001 – $200,000 | Half Tuition |
For more information on this policy, please check the Brandeis Commitment Page.
If your financial aid package is not sufficient to make Brandeis an affordable option for you and your family, we encourage you to contact your financial aid advisor to discuss any special circumstances that you may have that affect your and your family's ability to contribute to college costs (e.g., a change in your parent(s)' employment status, unreimbursed medical expenses, non-recurring income sources, etc.).
Your advisor will let you know whether these circumstances are sufficient to warrant an increase in your financial aid award and will also let you know what documentation will be required to re-review your financial aid eligibility.
In most cases, financial aid can be used to live off campus or commute from home. Since the costs of living off campus or at home are less than living on campus, the amount of need-based financial aid for which you qualify will be lower for these options, however, the overall cost for tuition, fees, housing and food should be similar to living on campus if your costs remain within the cost of attendance parameters. (For a comparison chart of housing and food costs based on these different options, please visit our tuition calculator.)
For off-campus living, for example, SFS estimates $995 per month for rent and utilities (you can provide your lease to document higher actual costs), and $484 per month for food (or 90 block plan plus $223/month for off-campus grocery funds), for nine months (September through May). If you live off campus, all of your financial aid would be applied to tuition and fees only and any amount above these would be refunded to you to use towards off-campus living expenses.
Financial aid refunds can be released up to 10 days before the start of classes; if needed, SFS can write a letter to your landlord to let them know that you have a credit coming on that date to encourage them to wait for your first and last month rent payment. If you receive financial aid, and are considering living in an off-campus apartment or commuting from home, we would encourage you to schedule an appointment with a financial aid counselor to discuss your personal financial aid situation as it applies to these housing options.
Please refer to our list of application requirements and deadlines.
Your financial aid is only awarded for one year at a time. You must reapply for financial aid each academic year for which you wish to be considered for assistance. Since Brandeis meets full calculated financial need for undergraduate students, your financial aid package will be adjusted each year commensurate with your cost of attendance and any changes in your expected family contribution (EFC). Each year, your financial need may vary, reflecting changes in your family's financial circumstances (changes in income and assets, number in college, etc.), the cost of attending Brandeis, and your residency status (i.e., on campus, off campus or with parents/relatives), which may affect the amount of your need-based grant.
Continued eligibility for aid from federal sources requires that you maintain satisfactory academic progress towards your degree. Although all merit scholarships have a GPA requirement for renewal, there is no GPA requirement for need-based Brandeis funds.
All required forms for reapplication will be detailed on our filing webpage before the next school year. If you are currently receiving financial aid, renewal application information will be e-mailed to you. It is your responsibility to submit the required documents even if you do not receive the renewal e-mail. Renewal applications should be filed by the published deadlines on the SFS website. Failure to file all financial aid application materials by the appropriate deadline may result in a limited or partial award, registration complications, and/or late fees on your student account.
The Office of Student Financial Services determines your eligibility for need-based aid only. Merit-based scholarships and grants are awarded through the admissions process and are determined by a Scholarship Committee.
All students accepted for admission to Brandeis are automatically considered for university-funded merit-based aid. You will be notified at the time of admission to the university if a merit-based scholarship will be offered to you. Under current policy, if you are not awarded merit funds as an entering student, you will not be considered for merit funds in subsequent years.
Most students who receive need-based assistance are awarded an aid package consisting of grant, loan and work awards designed to meet the applicant's calculated eligibility. Usually, a loan is awarded first, followed by a work expectation. All, or a portion of, the remaining eligibility is met with university, federal and state government and private grant assistance.
Your Financial Aid Award Letter may include one or more of the sources of need-based financial aid detailed in the Financial Aid Information Guide, which can be downloaded on our Forms page. Your Award Letter assumes a level of federal and state appropriations that is frequently not finalized at the time that the awards are made, therefore, if funds fail to be appropriated as anticipated, offers may have to be reduced or canceled. You will be notified immediately if any changes are necessary.