Common Questions

U.S. citizens and permanent residents must re-apply for aid each year. International students will have their aid automatically renewed each year and only need to apply once.

To learn more about the steps to re-apply, please see information about renewing your aid.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents must file the CSS Profile, FAFSA application, and submit all tax and wage documentation to the College Board IDOC service by early January. To learn more about the re-application process, please see information about renewing your aid.

If you have not yet submitted your CSS Profile, you should include the details about your circumstance in the "Special Circumstances" section on the Profile application. If your Profile has already been submitted, please review our page on special circumstances. If your situation qualifies as a special circumstance, contact us directly for more information.

You can view your "To-Do" list on DukeHub to determine what documents we'll need from you to complete your verification. Be sure to check your Duke email for any forms or worksheets that may have been sent to you.

While verification requirements can vary somewhat from person to person (so check DukeHub), in general the following are usually necessary:

• A completed and signed verification worksheet. It must be signed by both the student and the parent. You can download one from our forms page.

• A copy of you and your parent(s) tax transcripts. You can request the transcript from the IRS at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. 

• If a parent or student didn’t file a tax return, we need a completed non-filer form and a copy of any W-2’s you were issued. You can download the non-filer form from our forms page.

Send all the documents to our office via IDOC, and please email finaid@duke.edu to let us know after you have done so. You may also mail physical copies, if you prefer.

Mail:
The Karsh Office of Undergraduate Financial Support
Duke University
2127 Campus Drive Annex, Box 90392
Durham, NC 27708

If you have additional questions, feel free to contact us.

If you receive need-based grants, any fees associated with the courses you are taking and that are charged to your bill can be covered by financial aid. We will automatically update your aid to cover the fees once the drop/add period for the term has ended.

Financial aid includes all standard* housing costs. Whether you live on East or West Campus or in a single or double room, your cost will be the same. You should choose your standard housing based on your preferences and needs, not the cost. Standard costs include any charges for A/C, and your aid will be adjusted based on your cost of housing at mid-term.

*Please note that premium housing rates are not included in need-based aid packages. All rooms in 300 Swift are currently considered standard, not premium, rooms for financial aid purposes, and will be covered by financial aid.

Unlike housing, your aid is based on the cost of a standard dining plan and will not be adjusted based on the plan you choose. 

Every student should plan to bring an amount of money to campus to help with up-front expenses like books and supplies. This amount, often referred to as your student contribution, is what is usually used to cover out-of-pocket costs. However, if you aren't able to cover your costs, here are a few options that can help.

1. Find out if you will receive a financial aid refund.

   • If the anticipated aid on your bill is greater than your charges, you may be eligible for a refund prior to the start of classes.
   • If this is the case, you'll need to set up direct deposit. To activate direct deposit, enter your bank account information in the online form accessible through the Forms and Requests page on DukeHub. Once you receive your funding, you can use it to purchase books and other supplies on campus.

2. Remember, you don't have to buy your books at Duke.  

   • Many books may be available from online sellers, and some online retailers offer book rental programs.  Most professors publish required texts in the syllabus in advance, so feel free to use Google shop around.
   • If you do buy from Duke, you have the option of using your Duke Card FLEX account. You can put money on your FLEX account with cash, debit, or credit card, or you can add funds by charging your Duke student account. Doing the latter adds money to your FLEX account, but also adds the same charge to your bill. If there are any outstanding charges on your bill, they will need to be paid.

3. ​Check the library.

   • The Duke Libraries Top Textbooks Program is designed to reduce the burden of textbook costs for our students. Each semester the Libraries purchases textbooks for the 100 largest courses on campus (based on enrollment numbers) and places them on reserve for 3 hour checkouts from the main service desks. Most textbooks are on reserve at Perkins Library, and copies of about a third of textbooks are also available at Lilly Library. Whether you aren’t sure if you’ll stay in a class, don’t have money to buy the textbook, or don’t want to lug your books to campus, Top Textbooks is there for you! Use our interactive Top Textbooks webpage to search by class, instructor, or library location. You can also request that a textbook be purchased for reserves at the Perkins, Lilly or Music Library. Have questions? Contact perkins-reserves@duke.edu.

If you are a need-based aid recipient, medical expenses were already considered when determining your family contribution. However, if you have additional medical expenses as a Duke student, you can contact your financial aid counselor to determine if any loans or other funding may be available to assist.

In some cases, Duke may be able to provide assistance with the cost of student health insurance if you do not have access to other coverage and qualify for institutional need-based aid. See the next question on health insurance for more information on financial aid and the cost of health insurance.

Students may be eligible to receive assistance to cover the cost of the Duke Student Medical Insurance Plan (SMIP). To begin the process you will need to log into the DukeHub and select “Forms and Requests”. You can view Hub screenshots here. Once you complete the following steps, our office is automatically notified to determine aid eligibility.

1st year student: If you have health insurance through a parent or employer, select to WAIVE and complete “My Current Insurance Plan or Policy”. Click "Submit for review" when done.

If you do not have health insurance, you will still complete the waiver. Enter that you are not insured in the "Other Insurer" field and check the "no" boxes on the questionnaire. Click "Submit for review" when done.

DO NOT CLICK ENROLL, unless you are choosing Duke's insurance over your own and are prepared to cover the full cost. If you click "enroll" without completing the waiver process, financial aid will not cover the cost of your insurance.

Returning student: If you successfully waived SMIP last year, complete the waiver to have the charge removed from your bill.

If you were enrolled in the SMIP last year, you may select to ENROLL to continue coverage. Grant assistance to cover the charge will automatically be determined by our office.

Your Student Blue insurance includes a routine eye exam at no charge.

You can search for in-network providers here: https://www.bluecrossnc.com/find-a-doctor-or-facility/individual-group/blueoptions. Select "Find a Doctor" or "Facility" and browse by Medical Specialties > Specialist > Optometrist.

Blue Cross will also reimburse you for up to $100 for glasses or hard, soft, or disposable contact lenses each benefit year (August 1st-July 31st). To receive a refund, you will need to complete the Member Claim Form for BCBS NC, available on the BCBS NC website. If your glasses or contacts are more than $100, Financial Aid may be able to help with the remaining cost. Please reach out to your counselor to learn what grant or loan funds may be available.

Unfortunately, financial aid cannot cover the cost of interview travel. 

While the financial aid office cannot offer funding to help with medical or graduate school application costs, there may be other resources to help.

Medical School Applications: If your family’s household reported a total income of 300% or less than the most recent years’ national poverty level for that family size, you may be eligible for a reduction in fees for your medical school application. Visit https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/eligibility/ for more information.

Graduate School Applications: Individual graduate schools may agree to waive or reduce their application fees, and students should contact graduate admissions offices to determine the criteria and process for apply for a waiver or reduction. If these programs need information from our office, please contact us and provide us with the form or information we may need to submit on your behalf.

Exam Fees and Prep Courses: If taking the GRE, fee reductions may be available on the basis of financial need. To begin the process of applying for a GRE fee waiver, visit https://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/fees/reduction/. 

Preparatory Courses: While Duke can't cover the cost of the preparatory courses or the exams themselves, Perkins Library does offer practice GRE, MCAT, LSAT, and GMAT tests.  Click here to learn more.

Financial aid does not issue funding to cover the cost of organizational dues. Students may use earnings from work study or other sources to cover these costs.

Only internships required for graduation (paid or unpaid) qualify to have the summer earnings requirement waived (currently, only Public Policy and Global Health majors have this requirement). Students who are doing the required internships for these programs may have half their summer earnings waived if participating in a program for 8 weeks or less; if participating for more than 8 weeks, the entire summer earnings contribution may be waived). If you are a Public Policy or Global Health major receiving need-based aid and have completed your summer internship, please contact your counselor to notify them of your internship completion.

After your first year at Duke, you may apply to become a Resident Assistant.  If you are selected to be a Resident Assistant (RA), neither your parent nor your student contribution will be reduced. The value of your room and RA stipend will be considered as aid and will be included in your financial aid award in the same manner as an outside scholarship (see the answer to the next common question below for more details). The value of the room and stipend will reduce, dollar for dollar, the amount of loan or work-study funds in your award. If your loans or work-study allocation have already been reduced by outside scholarships, or if your RA room value and stipend are greater than any remaining loan or work-study award, university grant amounts will be reduced.

For more information on Resident Assistants and how to apply, visit Housing and Residence Life.

Examples: The following financial aid award examples illustrate how being an RA affects your need-based financial aid package:

The above table shows a sample need-based financial aid award.

The above table shows a sample need-based financial aid award for an RA. Actual amounts for room and RA stipend will vary.

If you receive need-based aid from Duke, your aid will include work study and may include a student loan. Any scholarship you receive will first replace the loans and work study you were offered. If you receive more in outside scholarships than the total loan and work study you were offered, the additional amount will reduce the need-based Duke grant or scholarship.

Below are three examples of how outside scholarships affect your need-based financial aid:

The above is an example of a need-based financial aid award with no outside scholarships.

The above is an example of an outside scholarship reducing part of a student's self-help.

The above is an example of an outside scholarship reducing the student's self-help and a portion of the Duke need-based scholarship.

If you are a domestic student living off campus and paying rent, we understand you will still have expenses for housing and meals. We’ll base your aid on the cost of a standard on-campus room charge and the cost of meal plan D. Your charges from Duke will change, but your aid will still include consideration for your housing cost. You’ll need to let us know you have rental expenses by completing a financial aid living survey that will be available on the financial aid website soon. You’ll want to have your rental agreement available to upload when completing the survey.

If you are a domestic student living at home, your aid will be adjusted to reflect your lower living costs but will still include some consideration for the additional expenses incurred by your family.

If you're paying rent, you should note that financial aid refunds are not released to students until the first day of class each term. If you qualify for a financial aid refund (i.e. your aid exceeds Duke's charges) and you will be using it to assist with your off-campus housing costs, please note that you will need to make arrangements on your own to cover your August and January rent costs if they are billed at the beginning of the month. Financial aid refunds cannot be released early and will not be available in time to make these payments, so students who choose to live off campus must plan accordingly. 

It can. If you are receiving need-based aid and have a sibling enrolled as a full-time undergraduate at a four-year institution, your parents’ contribution will be less. We assume your parents will have to split available funds between you and your sibling, so while your sibling is enrolled in college, your aid award will be greater. If your sibling drops below full-time, graduates, attends a two-year college, or attends graduate school, that sibling will no longer be counted, and your Duke grant aid may be reduced.

Each semester, we'll email you a sibling verification form if you've indicated you have a sibling in college. You'll need to have your sibling's school complete the form and return it to us. Sibling verification forms that are not returned to the Financial Aid Office by the deadline will result in a change in your aid.

Note that the above applies only to students receiving need-based aid. If you do not qualify for need-based aid, your sibling's college enrollment may or may not impact your ability to qualfy for aid. Contact your financial aid counselor to learn more about how a sibling's enrollment could impact you.

Duke students may receive a maximum of eight semesters of aid. Students may also receive up to two summer terms of aid (these terms must be taken prior to fulfilling graduation requirements. Students cannot delay graduation to take summer coursework after their senior year). If you are taking a ninth semester, you will need to have your academic dean contact the Financial Aid Office to determine your options for payment for your additional term.

You can still receive aid, and if you are taking at least three credits, your aid will not be impacted.  If you take fewer than three credits, your aid will be prorated based on your reduced tuition charges and book expense.  Your family contribution will remain the same, as will your budget for housing, meals, and miscellaneous expenses.  Your aid will be reduced by the same amount as the reduction in your tuition charges and book costs.  This means that for some need-based aid recipients, there is no financial advantage to taking less than a full-time course load since your family contribution does not change.

Please note: If you are taking less than two credits, you may no longer be eligible to receive federal loans and certain types of grant assistance.  To find out how your aid may be impacted if you will be attending less than two credits, contact us.

You can view your student account at any time on DukeHub. From your student center, click "View Account History" to see a current record of all your financial information.

For questions related to your payments or billing statement you can contact Student Accounts for help. If you have questions related your financial aid, please contact your financial aid counselor.

If you are unable to pay your remaining charges, you can contact your financial aid counselor to determine if you have eligibility for loans to pay the balance.

Maybe... and finding out is as easy as sending an email. Loans and work study are both based on federal financial aid eligibility, which is determined by the FAFSA. If you're interested in additional funding, you should let us know by going to the Financial Aid tab of your DukeHub account and clicking the name of your financial aid counselor that appears on the screen. Your financial aid counselor will review your account and post all additional loans and/or work study funding available to you. You'll automatically receive an email notifying you of the change to your award, and you'll be able to accept the additional funding via your DukeHub account.

Personal Finance at Duke provides numerous resources for helping you manage your finances. Sign up for finance workshops, take online tutorials and more at the Personal Finance at Duke website.

There are options for loan forgiveness, depending on the type of loan and your career field. To learn more, visit our Loan Repayment page or contact our Loans office at personalfinance@duke.edu.

Yes. Outside scholarship organizations, loan forgiveness programs, and other sources of aid may be able to help. Click here to learn more.

If you have more in grants and loans than you have in charges to your account, you can receive that money directly into your bank account. To receive the money, set up direct deposit by entering your bank account information in the online form accessible through the "Forms and Requests" page on DukeHub.