Admitted students who indicated an intent to apply for need-based financial aid on the admission application and have met the college’s financial aid application priority deadlines will typically have aid offers sent according to the following schedule:
- Early Decision 1 - December 22
- Early Decision 2 - February 8
- Early Action - March 1
- Regular Decision - 7-to-10 days after the receipt of admission decision
Prospective students will receive both printed and electronic copies of their financial aid award offers and supplemental materials.
Your offer may consist of one or more of the following sources of aid:
Grants
Reed Grants—Reed's institutional gift aid—are awarded based on your demonstrated financial need, as determined by the information provided on the FAFSA and CSS Profile. The grant awarded represents the maximum amount that can be offered to you; Reed does not change or negotiate awards based on comparisons with other schools. If you have received your financial aid award and feel you have an extenuating circumstance, review our Requests for Reconsideration page and submit the required information for review.
Federal Grants, including the Federal Pell and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) are need-based grants provided by the federal government. In the case of FSEOG, federal funds are supplemented by a Reed college match. Both grants are directed to students with high need for financial assistance based on information reported on the FAFSA.
Loans
Loans are a type of financial aid that must be repaid. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan are awarded based on your demonstrated need. Other loans (i.e., Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan and Federal Direct PLUS Loan) may be borrowed regardless of whether or not you demonstrate financial need.
For the 2023-24 academic year, undergraduate Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Loans have a fixed interest rate of 5.50%. More loan information can be found here.
Student Work
Student work, or work study, is an earned form of financial assistance. A work award is NOT a guarantee of employment; it is the student’s responsibility to locate a job and work a sufficient number of hours to earn their allocation. Unlike other types of financial aid, student work earnings are delivered in the form of a biweekly paycheck.