Financial Aid

How is financial aid awarded?

General information

The basic philosophy behind need-based financial aid is that the student and their family must assume primary responsibility for paying for the student’s education. Bard College Berlin expects that you (the student) and your parents will contribute toward your college bill from both income and assets. The College also expects that you will work during the summer months to earn funds that may be applied toward your college bill or other educational expenses. You and your family may also wish to consider borrowing additional funds to cover these costs. Your parents may be able to apply for government loan funds, or you may wish to apply for alternative educational loans

The evaluation of your application was based on the following:

• funds available in our aid programs
•  the number of students requesting these funds
• your financial need as measured through uniform analysis of the financial data submitted on the application portal and/or FAFSA (only for US citizens/permanent residents).
• financial aid available to you from other sources

Additional information

• Financial aid is awarded on an annual basis. Applications must be filed each year, every 1st of April to be considered for aid.
• To renew, you must complete and submit the Financial Aid Renewal Application together with the supporting documentation at your earliest convenience and by 1st April the latest. You can download the renewal application from the BCB website and submit all required documents to [email protected] digitally. Failure to meet this deadline may result in cancellation of financial aid after 1st of April.
• To remain eligible for financial assistance, you must maintain good academic standing in accordance with institutional guidelines. To receive your institutional financial/scholarship aid, you must achieve the minimum GPA 3.0
• Financial aid awards will be divided in two equal payments, one in the fall and one in the spring.
• Please note that your financial aid application will not be reviewed until all your supporting documentations and completed form have been submitted.

Bard College Berlin’s Scholarship/Financial Aid

Your award will be credited to your student account at the beginning of each term, provided that you have accepted your award through the online form.

For US Citizens/permanent residents

• If your FAFSA is selected for review in a process called verification, you will receive a verification worksheet and instructions from Bard College in Annandale. All necessary verification documentation should be returned as soon as possible. Financial aid will not be reflected as a credit on your account until all required documentation is on file in the Financial Aid Office and any electronic processes have been completed.  Please note that no credit will be reflected for any federal loans on your student account until the loan has been fully processed and approved.
• For federal financial assistance, you must accumulate ECTS toward a degree according to the following schedule:

Academic year completed       1             2           3          4
ECTS completed                    64          128        192       240      

Please note that all FAFSA verification/processing are being handled by the Financial Aid Office at Bard College in Annandale. Please get in touch with Patty O’Roark [email protected] with all your FAFSA-related questions.
 

• All loans will be disbursed in at least two payments. Typically, this means that a disbursement will be issued in the fall and a second disbursement will be issued in the spring. If you fail to enroll for any period for which the loan was intended, the disbursement for that loan period will be canceled and returned to the lender.

What are my payment options?

Billing and financial aid
After you have made the decision to enroll at Bard College Berlin and submitted a nonrefundable deposit of €500, the Student Accounts Office will notify you of information regarding the schedule of fee payments.

Briefly, the College offers two payment plans:

1. the Bard Budget Plan (10 equal monthly installments)
2. two payments each semester.

The timely submission of all financial aid documentation and filing for any financial aid not directly controlled by the College will enable you to meet the scheduled payments.

Payment Options and Deadlines >>