International Student Aid

If you are applying for the 2025-2026 academic year, please be advised the 2025-2026 ISFAA will not be released until December. You may monitor our webpage for any additional updates.

**Starting for the 2023-2024 School Year, First Time In College (FTIC) international students may only be considered for merit based Howard University Freshman Scholarships (HUFS) awards, if applicable.

Students classified as international are not eligible to receive federal aid; therefore, completing an International Student Financial Aid Application (ISFAA) allows Howard University to determine eligibility for and award available institutional aid. All international students must complete an International Student Financial Aid Application (ISFAA) to receive institutional aid while enrolled at Howard University.

The student applicant must respond to a questionnaire about age, degree type, legal dependents, marital status, and parent status. The questionnaire will provide the student with the option to complete either an ISFAA for Dependent Students or an ISFAA for Independent Students.

Student applicants must submit a completed ISFAA file to receive an aid offer package or scheduled financial aid. The Office of Financial Aid cannot consider an incomplete ISFAA file. The completed ISFAA file includes all of the following:

• Signed ISFAA
• Income/Wages & Tax data OR proof of no filing requirement in the country of residence for:
  • Student applicant
  • Parent(s) if considered a dependent student
  • Spouse if the student applicant is married
• Currency conversion to US Dollars; Locate a currency converter here
  • Important Note: The ISFAA requires financial information from the country of residence, such as taxes, assets, investments, and pension. Financial data and the household's total number to provide a need calculation based on the Department of Education metrics. All monetary amounts must be converted to US Dollars to provide an accurate aid offer package.

Submit the ISFAA before deadlines. The processing time is up to 14-business days from the date the Office of Financial Aid receives the completed ISFAA file. 

Regarding the Required Howard ID

You will be required to enter your Common App Id, also used during admission, into the ISFAA Application as you will not have a Howard ID until you have been admitted to the University.

Completing the Form

All required items of the ISFAA must be completed prior to the ISFAA application being sent to the Office of Financial Aid electronically. 

Supporting Documents can be uploaded directly on the ISFAA application or emailed to finaid@howard.edu.

For students who have been determined to be dependent, you will be required to complete the form and sign as the student prior to the form being sent to the email that was provided for your parent. This will allow your parent the ability to complete their sections on the ISFAA application.

Please note, for financial aid purposes this form is required for all international students anticipating being considered for institutional scholarship funding.

Starting in the 2022-2023 academic year, continuing students are no longer required to submit a new ISFAA application annually. For additional questions, please reach out to the Office of Financial Aid here.

To begin the 2023-2024 ISFAA Application

Dependent students, click Here

Independent students, click Here

For additional assistance with completing the ISFAA, please review our guide to completing the ISFAA found Here.