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Financial Aid Checklist

Decided on St. Thomas? Use this financial aid checklist to ensure you’ve taken care of the necessary steps to pay for college, such as deciding on financial aid options, submitting deposits, deciding who is going to pay the bills and giving them the access to do so.

Submit Your Deposit

There is no deadline to accept an offer of financial aid. However, students planning to attend St. Thomas should submit a confirming deposit to reserve a place in our incoming class.

We’re here to help!

Have a question and need to know who to talk to? Contact your financial aid counselor for more information.

The 2023-24 Notification of Award Guide‌ contains the full terms and conditions of your financial aid and other details including:

  • 2023-24 Estimated Cost Information
  • Financial aid deadlines
  • Financing options for students and parents
  • Policies governing student aid

This guide is in PDF format. If you are not able to view this document on your computer, please contact the Financial Aid Office to request a paper copy.

En Español: Notificación de Otorgamiento para 2023-24

The 2024-25 Notification of Award Guide will be available when Notification of Awards begin to be sent in March 2024.

Students must accept or decline federal loans and/or work-study they are offered using Murphy Online. New and prospective students must activate their St. Thomas account using their assigned St. Thomas ID before they can log in to Murphy Online. If you need help claiming your account or resetting a password, please call (651) 962-6230 for assistance.

Once you have access to Murphy Online, log in using your username and password and do the following:

  1. Select "Financial Aid"
  2. Select "Award Offer"
  3. Confirm the "Award Year"
  4. Accept or decline offered aid and click "Submit"

Note: By accepting your offered aid you are not committing to enrolling at the University of St. Thomas. This is not a contract and you can make adjustments later, if needed, to your enrollment plans or the aid you have accepted/declined.


Having trouble accessing Murphy Online? Please consult this guide or contact our Tech Desk at (651) 962-6230 for assistance.

There are still more scholarships available and waiting for students to apply. Explore our interactive Scholarship Page to find more opportunities and learn more.

Students may report an outside scholarship or resource using Murphy Online. New and prospective students must activate their St. Thomas account using their assigned St. Thomas ID before they can log in to Murphy Online. If you need help claiming your account or resetting a password, please call (651) 962-6230 for assistance.

Once you have access to Murphy Online, log in using your username and password and do the following:

  1. Select "Financial Aid"
  2. Select "Award Offer"
  3. Confirm the "Award Year"
  4. Select "Add/View Resource"
  5. Disclose your scholarship and click "Submit"

If you don't have access to Murphy Online, you may print the Outside Aid Information Form and submit it to the Financial Aid Office.

Note: Your scholarship check(s) may be mailed directly to you. Please bring any scholarship checks with you to campus and drop them off at the Financial Aid Office to be processed and paid to your student account.

To provide information regarding a special circumstance which affects your ability to pay education expenses, please complete the appropriate application and submit it along with supporting documentation to the Financial Aid Office.

Acceptable reasons to file a Special Circumstance Application include:

  • Death or disability of a parent or spouse since filing the FAFSA
  • Divorce or separation of parent or student since filing the FAFSA
  • Medical, dental, or dependent care expenses not reimbursed by insurance or by an employer's pre-tax cafeteria plan
  • Unemployment
  • Loss of child support and/or taxable Social Security benefits
  • Business or farm closed due to bankruptcy, foreclosure, or natural disaster
  • Private high school, junior high, or elementary tuition expenses for other family members
  • Parents' or spouse's personal college loan payments
  • Parent(s) enrolled in college in 2021 or 2022 and paying out-of-pocket college tuition

Payment Plan

Students will receive a billing statement in late August. Any charges not covered by financial aid may be paid in full at any time during the semester, but no payments are due until after classes begin. If you plan to make payments throughout each semester, please review the details of the payment arrangement available on all student accounts.

Other Financing Options

The University of St. Thomas recommends that students borrow the federal loans they are offered if they need financing to cover some of their education expenses. If additional financing is needed there are a variety of loan options available to parents and students. Please review these options and let us know if you have any questions. If you decide to apply for a Federal Parent PLUS Loan or private student loan, we recommend the parent or student complete any required application(s) in July or August to allow sufficient processing time.

Responsible Borrowing

We believe the value of a St. Thomas education is worth the investment required by our students and their families. However, we want to ensure no Tommie is borrowing more than is necessary to achieve their educational goals. We invite you to meet with your financial aid counselor to review your needs for the year and discuss a mix of payment options to discover the best option for your situation. It is often easier to just borrow a loan to cover all your expenses and say, "we'll worry about that later". However, adequate planning and taking a few small steps now could translate into meaningful savings after graduation.

College education is a large investment and we know now more than ever that the future can be uncertain. Because of this, St. Thomas offers an optional insurance plan that provides coverage for tuition, fees and other expenses in the unlikely event of a medical-related withdrawal from classes.

Learn more about the GradGuard Tuition Protection Plan

Completion of the Student Payment Agreement and Disclosure Statement is required for all students enrolled in classes at the university.

Follow these steps to access the form:

  1. Log in to Murphy Online
  2. Click on "Student Services"
  3. Click on "Student Account"
  4. Select "Online Student Payment Agreement and Disclosure Statement"

Assign Proxy Access

If a parent or guardian will help you manage your financial aid and student account at St. Thomas you must designate them as your proxy. By assigning your parent/guardian as a proxy, they will have view-only access to certain areas of your Murphy Online account. More importantly, this access allows our office to discuss the details of your student account with your parent/guardian when they call or email our office with specific questions.

Note: This policy does not apply until a student is attending courses at the University of St. Thomas. The Financial Aid Office will answer specific questions from a parent/guardian regarding a new applicant's financial aid, if appropriate, until classes begin.

Authorized User Access

Similar to but separate from proxy access is the ability to allow authorized user access to your eBill and ePayment account. This allows you to designate a third-party access to view your bill and make payments to your account. This also allows the Business Office to discuss the content of your eBill with your authorized user. To establish an authorized user, follow these steps:

  1. Access the eBill/ePay system via Murphy Online
  2. Select the "Authorized Users" tab
  3. Click on the "Add Authorized User" button
  4. Enter the email address of the third party you are authorizing
  5. Select "Yes" or "No" for the two questions
  6. Select "Add User"