Lasell University makes every effort to work with students and families to discuss and evaluate changes in a family’s financial circumstances. If you find your financial situation has changed and would like your account to be evaluated please fill out the Appeals Form and provide the with the appropriate documentation.
By completing the FAFSA, you will be automatically considered for all forms of need-based financial aid offered by Lasell and the federal and state government. The FAFSA may be filed anytime after January 1st but should be received by Lasell no later than March 31st for priority consideration.
Federal Student Aid (FSA) Federal Student Aid Estimator
Federal Student Aid (FSA) has published its updated Federal Student Aid Estimator tool to help students and their families calculate the amount of financial aid they may be eligible to receive for the 2025-26 award year.
According to FSA the form should take students, parents, counselors, and prospective students about 5-10 minutes to complete.
The journey to finding the perfect college can often get complicated, or even overturned, if that college is not the right financial fit. This page will help students and their support network find resources for financing options, budgeting help, and financial literacy resources.
As a reminder, if you are facing a Change in Financial Circumstances, please contact our office as soon as possible so a member of our team can help with your appeal. Our office hours are Monday - Friday 8:30am -- 4:30pm (closed on Fridays in the Summer) 617-243-2227.
Lasell University’s Financial Aid team is here to guide you and your support network through available options to finance your academic year.
Fall bills are generated in July and are due August 1, and Spring bills are generated in December and are due January 1. All balances are due prior to the start of classes. An unpaid bill could result in dropped classes.
Financing with a payment plan:
Monthly Payment Plan You can enroll in our 4-month payment plan online via QuikPAY. Payments can be made by check/e-check (no fee), credit card (includes a service fee), or you may have monthly payments deducted from your checking or savings account via ACH recurring payment (no fee). Visit Payment Plan to try and see if our plan can best suit your needs. There is a $40 per semester charge per payment plan.
Loan Options:
Lasell University does not have any school-offered loans. We do accept federal loans (for FAFSA eligible students) and private educational loans.
Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan (Available for biological/adoptive parents of undergraduate dependent students, only.) The parent is the borrower for this federal loan and responsibility cannot be transferred to the student.
Private/Alternative Education Loans We cannot recommend a specific loan or lender, however students and their support network can use ELM Select to research and compare private/alternative loan options. Students can apply on their own (and depending on each lender's requirements, they may need a credit-worthy cosigner), or a parent can apply on a student's behalf.
The first step to see how to afford college is to understand your own finances. Here are some budgeting resources to get more familiar with your income, expenses, and how to stay on track with your savings and spending goals.
Step One: Determine your time frame for your budget. You can create a budget for a month, academic year, or the whole calendar year.
Step Two: Find a tool to track your budget. Some students like using a free app on their phone, whereas others prefer a physical planner to write in. Whatever you use, make sure it's useful to YOU.
Step Three: Review your income. You'll need to start by understanding your income, where it comes from, and how often you can expect to be paid.
Possible Income sources:
Paycheck from work/Federal Work-Study: review your work history to determine how much your take-home pay is each month. If your hours are irregular (for example, you earn more in Summer than the rest of the year) estimate your annual pay and then divide that by 12.
Allowance from family: talk with your support network about regular expenses and everyone's comfort level on how much to spend. It's also a good idea to get on the same page about spending priorities. Can your allowance cover all your needs? Books, laptop, medications, gas...pizza? If one of your spending areas needs to be reduced, make sure your support network agrees as to where the money is going.
Financial aid (scholarships, grants, loans): Include income from any financial aid credit balance refunds—money that may be left over for other expenses after your financial aid is applied toward tuition and fees, and housing and food.
Step Four: Track your expenses. You will have new expenses now that you are entering college, but make sure you don't forget all your regular expenses, too! Review your financial statements for your recurring expenses like rent, groceries, digital services (like your cable/internet bill, Netflix, Hulu, etc.) childcare, personal/health care items (like haircuts or gym memberships, etc.) and see how much you are spending weekly/monthly/annually (make sure your spending timeline matches your budget timeline).
Step Five: Balance! Now that you have identified your sources of income and your expenses, you can now compare the two categories to balance your budget. To do so, you simply subtract your expenses from your income. Simple as that!
If your balance is + positive, it means you are spending less than your earned income!
If your balance is - negative, it means you are spending more than your earned income and need to make some changes to afford everything you NEED. Consider reducing your expenses and/or seek additional sources of income.
Here are some resources students can use to find discounts just for being a college student! While there are no real "coupons" for college, the concept is the same: find small ways to reduce your expenses. It's not about going overboard (there's no such thing as Extreme Couponing to College) but every little bit you can do to save money will help in the long run.
REMEMBER: check with the Brennan Library about free resources for your course materials like books, articles, downloadables, or even renting a laptop!
(Resources below are NOT affiliated with Lasell University and students should research their options before signing up for any new services.)
Managing Your Federal Student Loan(s) Can Seem Overwhelming—ECMC is Here to Help!
ECMC is excited to announce Counseling by Appointment feature on their website is live! Below you will find the complete link if you are interested in direct hyperlinking to the acuity calendar.
www.finaid.org Includes interactive calculators, estimators, discussion groups, scholarship search links, and a listing of financial aid resources.
www.collegeboard.org Information available from the College Board on SATs and other standardized tests, college costs, and scholarship information.
www.fastweb.com Provides free scholarship search with more than 400,000 scholarship sources.
www.ed.gov Provides links to information on federal financial aid programs from the Department of Education.
www.studentclearinghouse.org Provides real-time information regarding loan borrowing history, where and how much a student has borrowed, and through what programs to assist students with debt management.
www.doe.mass.edu Link to the Massachusetts Department of Education.
Once your FAFSA is received by our office, sometimes additional information is required before an award letter can be offered or finalized. Most common is collecting documentation to verify the data already submitted on the FAFSA. Sometimes additional forms or even personal statements are collected to finalize an award letter offer. Check your list of any Missing Items from your original offer of financial aid, or on your My.Lasell Self-Service Portal.
This document is required of all students seeking financial assistance, and should be included with the initial award letter. You can complete and sign it electronically.
If listed, this is being requested because your FAFSA has been selected by the Department of Education for verification, and you did not choose to use the IRS data retrieval process when completing the FAFSA, or did not qualify to use the retrieval process. We are required to collect a copy of the Federal Tax Return SIGNED or a Federal Tax Transcript for the student and parent as documentation of the federal tax return.
This may be obtained by requesting it online at https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript or by phone at 1-800-908-9946. The IRS will mail the transcript to the address listed on the return when it was filed. They will not mail it or fax it to anyone else. If you need to request a transcript, please make the request as soon as possible. You may try the IRS retrieval process on your FAFSA, by going into the FAFSA and making that correction. If successful we do not need to collect a transcript from you.
If listed, this is being requested because you have been selected for verification and either you or your parents did not file taxes. 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. Non Tax filers can request an IRS Verification of Non-filing of their tax return status, free of charge, from the IRS online, by phone or by mail. This may be obtained by requesting it online at https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript or by phone at 1-800-908-9946. If you are requesting the letter online, please note that the letter may not be requested online if you have never filed taxes before. Please call the IRS or put in a paper request via the 4506-T which may be downloaded online at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf.
IF LISTED one or both student and/or parent signature is missing from the FAFSA and must be provided. Options on how to sign the FAFSA are available on the StudentAid.gov webpage: https://studentaid.gov/help/how-sign-fafsa
We strongly encourage electronic signatures as this is the preferred and most efficient method of ensuring your FAFSA form is completed.
To sign your form electronically, log in to fasfa.gov, and then select the “Provide Signatures” button. (Your parent will need to also provide their parent FSA ID and password).
Alternatively, a slower option would be to submit the FAFSA form on paper:
Print a signature page by selecting “Print Signature Page” on the “My FAFSA” or “Signature Status” page. Print and sign with all missing signatures as needed, and then mail it to the address on the page. If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, your application will be processed within seven to ten days after your signatures are received.
The date of birth you reported for either your mother or father on the FAFSA does not match the date of birth the Social Security Administration has for that person. You must provide a copy of a birth certificate for the requested person.
The date of birth reported for the student does not match the one the Social Security Administration has on file for the student. Provide a copy of the birth certificate for the student.
Federal regulations require that any male between the ages of 18-26 who seeks to use federal financial aid (Pell Grant, Federal Direct Stafford Loans etc.) must be registered for the Selective Service. The Selective Service Administration cannot confirm that you are registered. You may complete the registration at your local United States Post Office, by going online at www.sss.gov and registering, or by answering Yes to the question on the FAFSA regarding Selective Service registration and processing a correction to your FAFSA.
The social security number reported on the FAFSA does not match the one the Social Security has on file for the student. A copy of the social security card is required.
First time borrowers at any college who wish to make use of the Federal Direct Stafford Loan must complete Entrance Counseling. This should be completed online at https://studentaid.gov/.
Most students are offered a Federal Direct Stafford Loan as part of their financial aid package. Students who wish to use this loan must complete a promissory note the first time they borrow through this program. This should be completed online at https://studentaid.gov/. This a student loan, and the student should log into this site with his or her Federal Student Aid User ID and Password. Parents should NOT complete the Stafford MPN.
Legal Guardianship Documentation The student indicated on the FAFSA that he or she is in a legal guardianship arrangement. A copy of the legal documentation establishing guardianship is required.
Emancipated Minor Documentation The student indicated on the FAFSA that he or she is an emancipated minor. This status is granted by a court of law. Copies of court documentation establishing emancipation must be submitted.
Orphan/Ward of the Court Documentation The student indicated on the FAFSA that he or she is an orphan, or was a ward of the court. Official documentation of this status is required.
Homeless or Unaccompanied Minor Documentation The student indicated on the FAFSA that he or she is homeless. Documentation of this status must be provided by the official representative from the student's school district responsible for handling homeless or unaccompanied minor students.
Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose Federal regulations require that any student selected to provide this documentation must do so in person at the college verifying the information. In the case of a student not being able to present themselves in person, the student must present proof of identity and the Statement of Educational Purpose to a Notary Public, and have the information certified by that individual.
In order to generate the Federal Tax Form 1098T we are required to request your correct identifying number to file the return with the IRS and to furnish a statement to you. Failure to provide your correct identifying number could result in a penalty from the Internal Revenue Service.
Students may find additional 1098T information at ECSI.
Please complete part 1 of the W-9S form with your social security or tax identification number so that we may update our records accordingly and provide you with an accurate form.
For security reasons, we request that you do not mail or email your social security or tax identification number. Please visit the Student Accounts Office on the 1st floor of O'Connor Hall with your completed form.
Use Form W-9S to provide your correct Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax Identification Number (TIN).
ECSI Account Information
To register an account and link the keycode to the account:
Type in a username and password – it will ask you to create security questions, your address, social security number
Once the account is made, click “Connect An Account”
Copy + paste the Heartland key (this is within the automated email send to you)
Type in your social security number then your account gets linked
Click “View Account” to view your 1098-T form
1098-T Form Online Help
In support of ECSI’s recent efforts to assist students with accessing their 1098-T form online, ECSI released a new self-service feature to the ECSI EasyPath website.
Students may now look up their Heartland Key to connect and view their 1098-T tax form after they create and sign in to their profile. If a Heartland Key matches the information provided by the student, it will be presented on screen, and the student will be able to easily connect it to their user profile. Detailed instructions for this process can be found at the ECSI Service Desk.
Of course, students who want to talk with a Customer Advocate can reach the ECSI Contact Center via phone or chat. Information is located here. ECSI is making every effort to answer student calls in a timely fashion.
