Financial Aid

Financial Aid at Brookdale

The new FAFSA® 26/27 is now available

We at Brookdale encourage all current and perspective students to file a FAFSA^®. Doing so may provide opportunities to assist you in financing your education and is worth the effort. If you need assistance with completing your FAFSA^®, schedule an appointment with a FAFSA Coach.

Remember, students must have completed their Admissions process and entered their social security number on their Admissions Application before they can receive notification from the Financial Aid Office. Processing begins each April. If you, the student do not have a Social Security number complete the Alternative FAFSA^®.

• 2025-2026 — If you are applying for financial aid for classes you attend between September 2025 and July 2026, you must complete the 2025–2026 FAFSA^®.
• 2026-2027 — If you are applying for financial aid for classes you attend between September 2026 and July 2027, you must complete the 2026–2027 FAFSA^®.

Learn how to prepare for and stay informed about the FAFSA^® launch.

What’s Changed

• Important update regarding the Community College Opportunity Grant (CCOG) for the 2025-2026 academic year. Please be advised that the income eligibility threshold for the CCOG Scholarship Program is currently under review as part of the New Jersey State Budget process for the 2025-2026 academic year. Further updates will be provided as information becomes available. Students who see their CCOG awards on their NJFAMS account, please note that these awards are provisional and will not be finalized until after the final state budget is approved. The State fiscal year begins on July 1st, and we expect to have final confirmation on the awards by the end of July.

  Didn’t submit a 2025–2026 FAFSA^® form? Make sure to create their own StudentAid.gov account—and remember your username and password so you can access and submit the 2026–2027 FAFSA form when it’s available.

• Find out if your parent(s) or spouse will need to be contributors (contribute their info on your FAFSA form).
• If your parent(s) or spouse will need to contribute to your form, make sure each contributor creates their own StudentAid.gov account. Even if a contributor doesn’t have a Social Security number, they will be able to create an account when the FAFSA^® form is available.
• Watch our “Preparing for the FAFSA^® Form” playlist to understand what information and documents you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA form.

Need help?

• Make an appointment with a FAFSA Coach
• Special Circumstances: If a student’s or family financial situation has changed since filing the FAFSA^®, a student may request a Special Circumstance Review.*
• Unusual Circumstances/Dependency Override: If you have extraordinary reasons for not being able to provide parent information on your FAFSA, you may request a Dependency Override.*

*Once your request is complete, you can expect a response in 3–10 days.

The pages within the financial aid website are informative and plentiful. Please take a look around! For now here are a couple of links to get you started:

• Applying for Financial Aid (PDF)
• Important to Know

Mission Statement

The mission of the Office of Financial Aid is to increase opportunities for student access in higher education, to succeed by helping students and their families seek, obtain, and make the best use of all financial resources. We will work together to provide service in a timely, equitable and caring manner, in full support of the community, College, and comply with all governing agencies. Emphasis is placed on the electronic steps of applying for financial aid, providing students links to the latest financial aid web sites, and providing students with the ability to check their financial aid status online.