Financial aid forms 2025-2026
Messiah University's Title IV Code is 003298.
Welcome to the financial aid application process for the 2025-2026 academic year.
This financial aid forms page contains all the information you need to know regarding the financial aid process.
Please use our secure file upload system to submit any forms the Financial Aid Office requests from you. Use this link for instructions on how to use the system.
Your FAFSA results will be sent directly to us from the federal processor so, in order to submit this to us, all you need to do is list our school code (003298) in Step Six.
Please start out by reading the Financial Aid Application Cover Letter This letter accompanies the other documents in the financial aid application packet. It serves as an introduction to the financial aid process and an important source of additional instructions about the application process.
Also visit our Seven Steps to Financial Aid for step by step instructions on completing the financial aid application process.
Click here to complete your FAFSA.
In addition to completing the forms on this page, we recommend that all students review the Scholarships, Grants and Loans page. This link will allow you to learn more about Messiah University's institutional scholarships and to search for scholarships from a wide range of private organizations. Every student should try this scholarship search at least once.
Note: All documents available from the links below are in PDF format, unless otherwise specified.
The Federal tax code includes a number of provisions designed to reduce or partially offset the costs of higher education for students and families. Among those are the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, both designed to help families pay for at least a portion of higher education tuition and fees and related costs. However, based on both anecdotal information and data from the IRS we believe many students and their families do not take advantage of these tax credits that could save them thousands of dollars.
For more information about these tax credits visit the IRS website.
We encourage you to complete your FAFSA on-line at studentaid.gov, which you can do now.
If you cannot or do not wish to complete the FAFSA on the web, you can use this PDF version of the FAFSA. The PDF FAFSA must be mailed for processing. The PDF FAFSA is available for you to print and fill out manually or is screen-fillable. Screen-fillable means you can enter your data on the screen before printing. Please note that if you choose this option you will not be able to save your data to your PC. To print a PDF FAFSA file from within your reader, we recommend you use the PDF's print button rather than the browser's print function.
Download a PDF version of the 2025-2026 Free Application For Federal Student Aid:
English Version - 2025-26 FAFSA Application
Spanish Version - 2025-26 FAFSA Application
Use these forms if the U.S. Department of Education has selected your FAFSA for review in a process called "verification."
Do not complete these forms unless the financial aid office instructs you to do so.
Students will be notified via email if verification documents are required.
Some of the forms below are electronic forms. For each electronic form you have been asked to complete, the student will first access the form and complete the student section. If a parent signature is required for an electronic form, after the student section has been completed the form will be forward to the parent via email. When all sections are completed and appropriate signatures have been entered, the parent submits the form. The form is then routed to the financial aid office for review and acceptance.
The electronic forms system collects the required legal electronic signature on each form. Therefore, the parent cannot complete and sign the form on behalf of the student. The student must start the form and the above process must be followed in order for the form to be valid.
Some of the forms below will be presented as a hard copy PDF that you can print and complete by hand. Please use our secure file upload system to submit any hard copy forms the Financial Aid Office requests from you. Use this link for instructions on how to use the system.
As noted above, the forms below will be available in the next few weeks and will have active links at that time.
Miscellaneous forms
Messiah University recognizes that many families experience unexpected financial strain when preparing to pay for college. This financial strain might be for many reasons, but is often due to a reduction in income.
If you expect that your 2025 income will be less than what was received in 2023 (the year on which the FAFSA information is based for the 2025-2026 academic year), we want to make sure that you are aware of the availability of our Change of Circumstances Form (CCF). The purpose of the CCF is to collect information on expected 2025 income and unreimbursed medical expenses so that we can recalculate your eligibility for financial aid for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The CCF is not available for download. If you feel you have a circumstance in which your family income will be significantly lower in 2025 than it was in 2023, please contact our office to speak with a financial aid professional who can advise you on whether or not your circumstances qualify for use of the CCF. If so, we will provide you with the form. You can contact us at:
Financial Aid Office
Messiah University
1 University Avenue
Mechanicsburg PA 17055
Phone: 717.691.6007
Fax: 717.691.2349
It is important to understand that there is no guarantee that your circumstances will warrant a recalculation or that any additional aid will be available to you if we do a recalculation.
Covenant Grants are awarded to full-time undergraduate students who are members or regular attendants of Brethren in Christ churches. An application is required. The amount of the Covenant Grant is $500 per school year. A travel allowance, ranging in amounts of $75 to $300, is available to non-Pennsylvania residents who also qualify for the Covenant Grant.
One application is sufficient for all four school years.
The Dean's Scholarship for Continuing Students application will be available for the 2025-2026 school year in March of 2025. Watch your Messiah email for a notice that the application is available.
Dean's Scholarships for Continuing Students are awarded to current Messiah University students who have distinguished themselves as outstanding leaders in specific activities while attending Messiah University.
Fifteen $1,500 Dean's Scholarships for Continuing Students are awarded each academic year.
DEAN'S SCHOLARSHIP FOR CONTINUING STUDENTS
1. Must be a full-time student at Messiah University.
2. Must have completed at least 30 credit hours of work at Messiah University.
3. Must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or better.
4. Need not demonstrate financial need, but financial need will be taken into consideration.
Messiah University students already receiving one of the leadership scholarships listed on the application are not eligible to receive Dean's Scholarships for Continuing Students.
Application deadline is June 1.
The following link will be active in March of 2025-
Download Dean's Scholarship for Continuing Students
Students, age 30 years or older, will be granted a 25% mature student discount on tuition only, for all courses for which they enroll.
This document highlights portions of the financial aid application packet to which international students should pay close attention.
The following link will be available by mid-December 2024-
Download memo for international students
The purpose of this form is to collect information from you about any non-institutional/private scholarships you will be receiving. This means scholarships that are NOT from state, federal or Messiah University sources.
The Nursing Loan is only applicable to nursing students. Priority is given to applications received by June 1st each year. Nursing students must complete a new application each year. To see what required verification forms must be submitted to determine a students' nursing loan eligibility, please view the students' outstanding requirements area.
The Nursing Student Loan is awarded through a specific process later in the application cycle. If you meet the eligibility requirements for this loan, you will be contacted by the Financial Aid Office to start the application process and the following link will be live at that time-
The Stabler Nursing Scholarship is not a true scholarship in that it is a debt of conscience. Please review the Stabler Nursing Scholarship form carefully for details on this program. You will note that you do agree to repay any money that you receive through this fund to Messiah University so, while it is not technically a loan, you will probably want to view it as such. Awards have been as high as $5,000 in prior years. (Your eligibility will be checked after we receive your completed application.) Funds from this program will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis until they are exhausted. Be sure that you indicate the amount that you would like to receive (up to $5,000) before returning the form to the Financial Aid Office.
Students who are residents of the state of Vermont can apply for the Vermont Grant through the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation at http://www.vsac.org/.
If you are a veteran, or the dependent of a veteran, and plan to receive veterans' benefits to help pay your educational expenses, please review Messiah University's policy entitled Military Benefits and Institutional Aid so that you will understand how your veterans' benefits will interact with Messiah University institutional financial aid programs. In some cases, Messiah University institutional financial aid will need to be reduced to allow your veterans' benefits to fit into your institutional financial aid package. After reviewing the policy, please complete the Veterans' Benefits Reporting Form and return it to Steve Gross, Suite 3010 on the third floor of the Kim Phipps Welcome Center.
What Will I Owe?
This is probably one of the top three questions we hear in our office. The Student Financial Services Office will send you information in May on the Interest-Free payment option, and in late July you will be able to view statements online for the fall semester.
We have included this worksheet to help you understand approximately how much you will need to pay from your own resources or through additional student loans. This worksheet produces only an estimate. It is not your bill from Messiah University and should not be viewed as equivalent to a bill. Your actual bill will be provided to you from our Student Financial Services Office and is the official calculation of what you need to pay.
This worksheet is included only for your convenience; you do not have to return it to the Financial Aid Office.
Here are some things you need to know before completing this worksheet:
- This worksheet is based only on the fees that you will be charged by Messiah University.
- The figures are estimated based on the highest possible costs for enrollment, housing, and meal plans as shown in the left column under Amount; in other words, a worst-case scenario. You can use these figures or you might wish to adjust some of the costs if you know exactly what they will be in your case. Things like tuition and fees will be the same for most people.
- The calculation in this worksheet does not include costs for things like books, travel and personal expenses. You will need to allow for these items as you plan for your college expenses, and you can include them in the 'Other Costs' field of this worksheet if you wish to do your own estimate of these costs.
- We estimate that books and supplies could range from $500 to $1,330 for one year.
Download the What Will I Owe Worksheet here.
Students who are eligible to apply for benefits under the Yellow Ribbon Program should complete the Yellow Ribbon application. Yellow Ribbon applicants should read and understand the Messiah University Policies and Procedures for the Yellow Ribbon Program before applying for Yellow Ribbon Program benefits.