We believe a world-class education should be accessible to everyone. WashU offers the following grant opportunities for our first-year students, designed to make your exceptional academic journey affordable from day one.
The First-Year Startup Grants aid students in their college experience by helping to cover expenses associated with necessary school items, including but not limited to school supplies, residential hall supplies, and winter clothing. These grants are provided to students coming from families with $75,000 or less in annual income.
The grant includes a waiver of the $1,550 summer earnings expectation, a $500 campus store credit, and $1,000 in Startup Grant funds issued as a direct payment.
Common questions
- These funds will continue to be reflected in your financial aid offer, which you can see in your NetPartner portal. They can be used for necessary school items including but not limited to school supplies, residential hall supplies, and winter clothing. You will receive these funds as a direct payment via direct deposit or by check. You are not required to purchase these items from one particular place or to show a proof of purchase.
- $500 Danforth Campus Store Credit: These funds will continue to be reflected in your financial aid offer. The first $250 is available to you in August, and the second $250 is available to you in January. This credit can be used for any item at the WashU Danforth Campus Store, including but not limited to books, technology, and school supplies.
This grant is for first-year students from families with $75,000 or less in annual income.
Some financial aid offers are based on the expectation that you will work over the summer and use that money to help pay for college. We have removed this $1,550 summer earnings expectation from your financial aid offer, increasing your overall aid. You will be able to see this in your financial aid offer as “Summer Earnings Expectation Replacement Grant.” A credit of $775 will be automatically applied toward university charges at the beginning of each semester for your first year.
- Each semester during your first year, you will receive a direct payment of $500 in Startup Grants funds, for a total of $1,000. You will receive an email from WashU once the funds are available. You can expect your fall funds to be available in early August and your spring funds in early January.
- Each semester during your first year, you will receive a $250 campus store credit, for a total of $500. These credits will automatically be applied to your WashU Danforth Campus Store account at the beginning of each semester. Any unused fall credits will roll over to the spring semester. However, all unused campus store credits remaining at the end of the spring semester will be transferred and credited to your student billing account.
Startup Grant recipients will receive their funds through a direct deposit to their bank account or by check. Each student will need to set up direct deposit through Workday or pick up their checks from Student Financial Services once on campus.
Startup Grant recipients will receive an email with instructions on how to set up direct deposit.
No. We do not track what you purchase with your Startup Grant funds. Each student’s needs are different and we leave it up to the student to decide what they need to purchase for their first year.
No. The Startup Grant funds are meant to offset some of the extra costs first-year students experience outside of tuition, fees, housing, and food. These funds are a resource to our students so they can fully engage in academic and campus life without the extra burden of unexpected college costs.
Since the Startup Grant funds are meant to pay for additional costs (outside of tuition, fees, housing, and food), credit for these funds does not show up on your student billing account. These first-year funds will be directly deposited to your bank account, or a physical check can be picked up from Student Financial Services.
Some students who qualify for the First-Year Startup Grants may also qualify for a refund through WashU. If you are eligible for that refund, you will receive those funds at the beginning of each semester in addition to your Startup Grant funds. This refund will be available to you through direct deposit or a physical check that can be picked up from Student Financial Services. If you have questions about the amount of your refund, please reach out to your Student Financial Services counselor.
Eligible incoming students will be given a campus store credit of $1,525 to be used for the purchase of a laptop computer that meets the minimum requirements for undergraduate study at WashU. This credit must be used by December 1 of the fall semester and will not roll over. If you have additional funds from a Startup Grant, you can combine that credit with your laptop purchase if the computer amount exceeds your $1,525 Technology Grant, however, we have computer options that can be fully covered by the Technology Grant.
Technology Grants are given to financial aid recipients coming from families with $200,000 or less in annual income. Incoming first-year and transfer students are eligible.
For guidance and support regarding the university’s technology requirements and recommendations, visit WashU Tech Den, a technology resource center available to all WashU students.
Common questions
This $1,525 Technology Grant will fully cover a computer that meets the minimum requirements for undergraduate study at WashU. These funds will not show up on your financial aid offer, but they are available to you through an account at the WashU Danforth Campus Store. These funds can only be used to purchase a laptop computer and warranty. This computer must be purchased by December 1 of the student’s first fall semester. These funds will not roll over to the spring semester.
Please refer to the WashU Tech Den website for detailed information on the type of computer you will need. Each school has different requirements. You will find several approved computer options available through the WashU Danforth Campus Store.
WashU students are required to have a laptop that meets or exceeds the minimum laptop specifications for their class or school. It’s important to be able to take your schoolwork mobile. You will use your laptop to take notes in class, to study with your classmates in spaces across campus, and for remote online learning.
Please visit WashU Tech Den for more information on laptop requirements and questions.
Yes. Your $1,525 Technology Grant must be used at the WashU Danforth Campus Store. You may choose which computer you would like to purchase from the campus store’s list of approved options. Please be aware that your laptop purchase must also include a 4-year accident warranty.
You will receive additional details about the warranty purchase and cost in late July, as part of the instructions for ordering your computer.
No. Technology Grant funds must be used by December 1 of your first year; they will not roll over. If they are not used, you will lose them.
Our office will send you an email with instructions on how to order your laptop online through the campus store. You will pick up your computer from the campus store when you arrive on campus in August.
Your Technology Grant funds will be available in late July. You will receive an email from our office with instructions on how to order your laptop.
You will pick up your computer in person at the WashU Danforth Campus Store once you arrive on campus
WashU is not able to reimburse you for a computer you have already purchased. However, you may use the Technology Grant to purchase a second laptop if needed. Please note that laptops purchased with the Technology Grant may not be resold.
The School Specific Technology Recommendations page of the WashU Tech Den website features each school’s recommended hardware specifications and more. Note: You are not required to purchase your school’s recommended “plus experience” specs as long as you meet the “university minimum requirements” listed.
If you are attending FSAP, our office will send you instructions for ordering your computer before you arrive on campus in June.