{"id":4335,"date":"2026-04-23T15:43:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/?page_id=4335"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:45:28","slug":"earlyaid","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/apply\/earlyaid\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Financial Aid Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"introduction block-container\" >\n    <div class=\"introduction__content\">\n    \t        \t<p class=\"introduction__copy\">Macalester offers two Early Decision admission rounds for students who know that Macalester is their first-choice college. Students who apply via Early Decision commit to attending Macalester if they are admitted.\r\n\r\nThe Early Financial Aid Assessment (EFAA) program is designed to give you the information you need to apply, without hesitation. Students who are interested in Early Decision can request an EFAA and receive an official statement of need-based aid and merit scholarship eligibility before they commit to applying through Early Decision.<\/p>\n    \t    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<accordion-container\n    tag=\"section\"\n    class=\"accordion-group block-container\"\n    >\t\n\t<div class=\"accordion-group__outer\">\n\t    \t        <h2 class=\"accordion-group__heading\">KNOW YOUR COST AT MACALESTER BEFORE YOU APPLY VIA EARLY DECISION<\/h2>\n\t    \t    <ul class=\"accordion-group__list\">\n\t        \t            <li class=\"accordion-group__list-item\">\n\t                <accordion-container-header\n\t                    tag=\"h3\"\n\t                    class=\"accordion-group__item-heading\"\n\t                >\n\t                    <accordion-container-header-button\n\t                        class=\"accordion-group__heading-button\"\n\t                        controls=\"accordion-group-1\"\n\t                        id=\"accordion-group-heading-button-1\"\n\t                    >\n\t                        <span class=\"accordion-group__button-text\">What will I learn from an early financial aid assessment?<\/span>\n\t                        <span class=\"accordion-group__icon-wrap\">\n\t                        \t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol accordion-group__button-icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-plus-small.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t                        <\/span>\n\t                    <\/accordion-container-header-button>\n\t                <\/accordion-container-header>\n\t                <accordion-container-panel\n\t                    id=\"accordion-group-1\"\n\t                    class=\"accordion-group__item-panel\"\n\t                >\n\t                    <div class=\"accordion-group__item-panel-inner\">\n\t                        <p><p>The EFAA program will inform you of your official eligibility for all forms of financial aid, including merit scholarships and need-based aid.<\/p>\n<p>Students and families who do not plan on applying for need-based financial aid have the option to solely request an assessment of their eligibility for a merit scholarship. These students only need to submit academic information when requesting an EFAA.<\/p><\/p>\n\t                    <\/div>\n\t                <\/accordion-container-panel>\n\t            <\/li>\n\t        \t            <li class=\"accordion-group__list-item\">\n\t                <accordion-container-header\n\t                    tag=\"h3\"\n\t                    class=\"accordion-group__item-heading\"\n\t                >\n\t                    <accordion-container-header-button\n\t                        class=\"accordion-group__heading-button\"\n\t                        controls=\"accordion-group-2\"\n\t                        id=\"accordion-group-heading-button-2\"\n\t                    >\n\t                        <span class=\"accordion-group__button-text\">When can I apply for an early financial aid assessment?<\/span>\n\t                        <span class=\"accordion-group__icon-wrap\">\n\t                        \t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol accordion-group__button-icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-plus-small.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t                        <\/span>\n\t                    <\/accordion-container-header-button>\n\t                <\/accordion-container-header>\n\t                <accordion-container-panel\n\t                    id=\"accordion-group-2\"\n\t                    class=\"accordion-group__item-panel\"\n\t                >\n\t                    <div class=\"accordion-group__item-panel-inner\">\n\t                        <p><p>The EFAA program is available from August 1 to December 15. Early Decision admission application deadlines are November 1 for Early Decision I and January 1 for Early Decision II.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Starting on August 1, students can submit an <a href=\"https:\/\/admissions.macalester.edu\/register\/EFAA\">official request for an early financial aid assessment<\/a> and provide academic information. Consideration for need-based financial aid opens on October 1, when the CSS Profile becomes available. Macalester will provide financial aid results approximately one week after receiving required materials.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p><\/p>\n\t                    <\/div>\n\t                <\/accordion-container-panel>\n\t            <\/li>\n\t        \t    <\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/accordion-container>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complete the following steps to receive your Early Financial Aid Assessment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Submit Preliminary Application or Common Application<\/strong> (August 1 &#8211; December 15)<br>Students should begin the EFAA process by completing the <a href=\"https:\/\/admissions.macalester.edu\/register\/PrelimApp\">Macalester Preliminary Application<\/a>. This will provide you with an applicant portal and allow you to submit your EFAA request (step 2). If you have already applied for admission via the Common Application, you do not need to complete the preliminary application.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Request an EFAA and provide academic information<\/strong> (August 1 &#8211; December 15)<br>Submit an <a href=\"https:\/\/admissions.macalester.edu\/register\/EFAA\">official request for an early financial aid assessment<\/a> before completing your financial aid application. Without submitting this request, we will not know that you want to receive an early assessment. When submitting the EFAA request form, you will be prompted to provide a copy of your high school transcript and a list of planned senior year courses. You may also provide ACT\/SAT test scores if you plan to supply test scores when you apply for admission.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Complete CSS Profile <\/strong>(October 1 &#8211; December 15)<strong><br><\/strong>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/cssprofile.collegeboard.org\/\">cssprofile.collegeboard.org<\/a> to complete the CSS Profile. Include Macalester\u2019s code (6390) in the school release section. There is a fee associated with filing the CSS Profile, which is automatically waived for many low-income filers.<br><br><em>Divorced\/separated parents:<\/em> If your biological\/adoptive parents are not married and do not reside in the same household, both parents must complete separate CSS Profile applications in order for you to be considered for financial aid from Macalester. For more information about this requirement, please visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/faq\/us-students\/#us1\">Frequently Asked Questions page<\/a>. If you do not have contact with one of your biological\/adoptive parents or cannot have that parent complete the CSS Profile, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/295\/2017\/09\/CSS_Profile_Waiver_Request_Noncustodial_Parent.pdf\">request this requirement be waived<\/a>. Some students will have this requirement waived automatically based on information on their custodial parent\u2019s CSS Profile.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Upload Tax documents<\/strong> <strong>via IDOC Submission<\/strong> (October 1 &#8211; December 15)<strong><br><\/strong>After completing the CSS Profile (step 3 above), you will receive an email from the College Board IDOC service. This email will come from collegeboard@noreply.collegeboard.org and will provide instructions to use IDOC to upload tax documents and applicable supplements required to apply for financial aid from Macalester. Your IDOC information will specify which documents are required. In general, they will include your <strong>parents\u2019 2025 federal tax return<\/strong> and <strong>W-2 forms<\/strong>. Parents who do not file a tax return will be asked to complete a Non-Filer Statement (provided by the IDOC service).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<section class=\"callout-resource block-container callout-resource--inner\" >\n    <div class=\"callout-resource__inner\">\n        <div class=\"callout-resource__lockup-column\">\n            <div class=\"callout-resource__lockup\">\n                <div class=\"base-lockup\">\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<h2 class=\"base-lockup__heading\">Questions?<\/h2>\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<p class=\"base-lockup__copy\">Our financial aid experts can answer your questions about the Early Financial Aid Assessment.  \r\n<\/p>\n\t\t                        \t\t<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"callout-resource__content-column\">\n            <div class=\"callout-resource__contact\">\n                <span class=\"callout-resource__contact-header\">Contact<\/span>\n                <address class=\"callout-resource__contact-text\">\n                    <span>Financial Aid<\/span><br>\n                    \n                    \t\t                        \t<br>651-696-6214 or 800-231-7974\n                                        \t\t\t<br>651-696-6866 (fax)\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<br><a href=\"mailto:financialaid@\u200bmacalester.edu\">financialaid@\u200bmacalester.edu<\/a>\n\t\t    \t\t                    <\/address>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"link-group block-container\" >\n        <div class=\"link-group__featured-row\">\n        <div class=\"link-group__featured-inner\">\n            <div class=\"link-group__featured-inner-inner\">\n                <ul class=\"link-group__featured-link\">\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/admissions\/early-action-decision\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    More about Early Decision\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    Financial Aid\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/faq\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    Financial Aid FAQs\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/cssprofile.collegeboard.org\/about\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    About the CSS Profile\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                    <\/ul>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Complete the following steps to receive your Early Financial Aid Assessment<\/p>","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":0,"parent":241,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4335","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4335"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4419,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4335\/revisions\/4419"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}