Understanding Your Aid Offer & Next Steps

Undergraduate Financial Aid

After you apply for financial aid, you'll receive an email when your financial aid offer is available for you to view online. Use the following resources to help understand your offer and determine the next steps you need to take in order to secure your financial aid.
 

When to Expect Your Financial Aid Offer:

When you receive your aid offer depends on your admission application round.

2025-2026 Financial Aid Offer Timelines
Admission Round Financial Aid Offers Begin
Early Decision I Early December*
Early Action Late December*
Early Decision II Mid-February
Regular Decision Early March
Transfer Students Early June
Current Students Early June

*Financial aid offers will be based on the CSS Profile (and the noncustodial parent CSS Profile, if required). However, the 2025-26 FAFSA is a required submission that is expected according to the priority deadline.

  • How to View Your Aid Offer

    Prospective First-Time, First-Year Students:

    You will be notified with instructions about how to view your aid offer once it's available.

    Current and Transfer Students:

    1. Log into My4D.
      If this is your first time logging in, your password will be your six-digit birth date in the MMDDYY format.
    2. Click on the "View My Financial Aid Offer (PDF)" link within the Financial Aid Information widget on your dashboard.
    3. Choose the appropriate aid year from the drop-down menu.
picture of student studying

Understanding Your Aid Offer

Check out the offer guide for additional information.

Your DU financial aid offer will include information about estimated costs, the types of aid offered to you, and estimated net price for the academic year. We do not assume students will take classes in the summer, so your initial offer will not include costs or aid for the summer quarter (a separate application for summer aid is available in April each year).

> View a sample aid offer
 

  • Estimated Costs

    The estimated cost of attendance listed in your aid offer reflects the typical costs of an undergraduate student attending DU and is broken down by direct and indirect costs. 

    Direct costs are charges that are billed by DU, such as tuition, fees, housing, and meals (if you plan to live on campus). 

    Indirect costs are estimates for additional items including books, supplies, and personal expenses such as laundry, toiletries, and clothes. You are not billed for indirect costs.

    Because DU uses estimates for indirect costs as well as housing and meals, your actual costs may be lower or higher. Financial aid is not adjusted based on actual costs.

    > More about cost of attendance

  • Grant, Scholarship and Waiver Eligibility

    This section lists aid you’re eligible to receive at DU, which you do not have to repay. Grants and scholarships can be merit based (determined by your academic profile) or need-based (determined by your financial aid application).This section of your aid offer will list any merit scholarships you were granted at the time of admission to DU, as well as any additional scholarships and grants you're eligible to receive, which you do not have to repay. 

    DU, Federal & State Grants

    In cases where we have not yet received or reviewed a student's 2025-26 FAFSA submission, "DU, Federal & State Grants" will be listed in lieu of detailed grant and scholarship aid types. DU, Federal & State Grants represent guaranteed total grant aid that you do not have to repay and requires a valid 2025-26 FAFSA application prior to funds being applied to University charges.

     

    > More about grants and scholarships

  • Student Loan Eligibility

    Most students are automatically offered at least one type of federal student loan in their financial aid offer. Loans are optional and are offered to you, which means you have to actively accept them if you'd like to borrow that additional funding. You can also choose to only borrow a portion of a loan offered to you, or not accept them at all. Remember that after you graduate, you'll have to repay any loan you borrowed during your time at DU. 

    > More about student loans

  • Estimated Net Price

    This section estimates your net price (total cost of attendance minus financial aid) for the academic year. Because the net price calculation includes indirect costs that are not billed by DU, this is not an estimate of the bill you’ll receive.

    • Estimated Direct Cost Without Loans: This is an estimate of your net price after your grants and scholarships have been applied.
    • Estimated Direct Cost With Loans: This is an estimate of your net price after your grants and scholarships have been applied if you also choose to borrow the full amount of your offered students loans.
campus scene w/ mountains

Additional Resources

Next Steps to Receive Your Aid

Once you review your financial aid offer, there are additional steps you need to take to receive your aid.

Please Note: Students beginning in the fall of 2025 should wait until May to complete these steps.

  • Accept/Decline Your Aid

    In order to receive any type of aid, it must be accepted through My4D. To view and accept or decline each type of aid offered to you:

    1. Sign into My4D.
    2. Click on the "Accept or Decline My Financial Aid Offer" link within the Financial Aid Information widget on your dashboard.
    3. Select the 2024-2025 Aid Year from the drop-down menu.
    4. Click on the Terms and Conditions tab, review, and click "Accept".
    5. Click on the Accept Award Offer tab.
      • Choose "Accept" or "Decline" in the drop-down menu next to each type of aid (most DU scholarships will already be accepted on your behalf).
      • If you wish to only accept a portion of a loan, type that amount in the "Accept Partial Amount" box. Remember that any amount you accept will be split evenly over your terms of enrollment—i.e. fall, winter, and spring quarters.
      • If you don't want to borrow a loan, be sure to choose "Decline" in the drop-down menu.
  • Apply for an Additional Loan (if needed)

    If you need to apply for an additional loan to help cover your costs, a Federal Parent Plus Loan or a Private Education Loan is available.

    Learn More

  • Complete Loan Requirements

    If you accepted a Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan, and you are a first-time borrower at DU, you’ll need to go to https://studentaid.gov and complete entrance counseling and a Master Promissory Note.

  • Complete College Opportunity Fund Requirements (if eligible)

    If you have the Federal Pell Grant listed on your financial aid offer and you graduated from a Colorado high school, you're eligible for a $38.67 per credit stipend through the College Opportunity Fund.

    To receive funding, you must:

  • Sign Up for a Payment Plan (optional)

    DU offers a no-interest payment plan that may help you cover a portion of your bill. Utilizing this plan can reduce the amount you may need to borrow in loan funding.

    Visit the Office of Student Billing to learn more.

  • Sign Up for Direct Deposit (optional)

    If your financial aid is more than the total of your charges, you'll receive a refund from the Office of Student Billing. To expedite your refund, we recommend setting up direct deposit through My4D. Instructions can be found on the Office of Student Billing website.

  • Accept or Waive DU's Health Insurance Plan (optional)

    Most students are automatically enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Program. If you are covered by another health insurance plan, you may waive participation in this program. More information about this program, including instructions on how to waive participation, is available on the Office of Student Billing.

  • Report Your Private Scholarships

    Will you be receiving a scholarship from an organization outside of DU this year? If so, let us know so we can add it to your account.

    Scholarship checks can be sent directly to our office:

    Financial Aid
    University of Denver
    2197 S. University Blvd.
    Denver, CO 80208-9403

    Once your check has been processed, your scholarship will be added to your financial aid account and will disburse to your DU student account in the same way as the rest of your aid.

  • Add an Authorized User to DUPay

    If you’d like to give someone else (such as a parent) the ability to access your DUPay tuition account to view balances and make payments, add them as an authorized user.

  • Complete/Update the Release of Student Records (FERPA) form (optional)

    The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that prohibits the University of Denver from releasing a student’s educational records to anyone (including parents and guardians) without the student’s written consent. That means when it comes to your financial aid, we can't discuss specific details about your account with a family member if you haven't given written consent—we can only provide general information.

    If you wish to allow us to speak to a family member or another third-party about your financial aid, you must complete a Release of Student Records form in My4D.

  • Keep an Eye on Your Checklist in My4D

    Be sure to frequently review the Financial Aid Checklist widget on your My4D dashboard. Any item with the open circle icon next to it requires further action and may prevent you from receiving your financial aid in a timely manner.

Contact

 

Financial Aid