Application Process

Required Application Materials

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

All U.S. Citizens or Permanent Resident aid applicants must complete the FASFA. There is no processing fee and the FAFSA is required for all federal student aid eligibility. The FAFSA will ask you to report prior, prior year’s tax information.

CSS Profile Application

All U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents who wish to be considered for a Stanford GSB fellowship, and all international students who wish to apply for any form of financial aid including loans, must complete the CSS Profile Application online. There is a $25 processing fee. You are expected to provide information for yourself and, if applicable, your spouse (or prospective spouse, if you are marrying on or before January 15). Parental information is not required. The CSS Profile will ask you to report prior, prior year’s tax information.

Copies of Your Country’s Tax Return

If you are a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, you will provide signed copies of your most recent completed U.S. federal tax returns for the prior two years to the Financial Aid Office, including copies of all schedules and copies of your W-2 forms. If applicable, you will submit copies of your spouse’s information (or prospective spouse as well, if you are marrying on or before January 15).

If you are an international student, provide copies of your most recent tax statements for the last two years from any and all countries in which you worked, including wage statements, to the Financial Aid Office.

More details about submitting your tax forms will be available once you are admitted to Stanford GSB.

Once you’ve completed the required forms, we determine your financial need and the amount and aid we can offer. The Stanford GSB Financial Aid Office defines “need” as:

You may be notified by our office to submit additional forms in order to complete the financial aid application process.

It is advisable to repay certain types of debt prior to enrolling at Stanford GSB.

Consumer Debt

We strongly suggest that you do your best to repay consumer debt before attending Stanford. Federal Law specifically states that we cannot include consumer debts (i.e., credit cards, consumer loans, car loans) in the student budget. Therefore, we are unable to increase your cost of attendance to demonstrate additional financial aid eligibility to assist you in making payments for such debt. Moreover, we will not be able to decrease the value of your assets by the amount of consumer debt.

Educational Loans

While most U.S. government educational loans have deferment options for students enrolled at least half-time in an educational program, some educational loans may not. We cannot take these loans into consideration while determining your fellowship eligibility. Therefore, before entering the program, we encourage you to try to repay prior educational loans which cannot be deferred.