Samantha Veeder
Associate Dean of College Enrollment; Director of Financial Aid | University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, UNITED STATES
An expert on financial aid policies, practices, and regulations.
Areas of Expertise (5)
CSS Profile
FAFSA
Financial Aid and Scholarships in Higher Education
Financial Aid in Higher Education
College Affordability
Biography
Samantha Veeder has over 27 years of experience in the financial aid profession, previously serving as director of financial aid at Syracuse University, Nazareth College, Hobart & William Smith Colleges and Keuka College and as a senior consultant at Scannell & Kurz, Inc. Over the years, she has been active in state, regional, and national professional organizations. She has served as Treasurer of both NYSFAAA and EASFAA, and is currently serving as Past-President of EASFAA and Chair of the College Board CSS/Financial Aid Assembly Council. Sam is the recipient of the NYSFAAA Citation of Appreciation, NYSFAAA Sister Bernadine Hayes and Rusty Hopkins Service Award, the NYSFAAA Region III Service Award, the College Board Bernard P. Ireland Recognition Award, and the EASFAA Leadership Award. Sam is a frequent presenter at financial aid nights, workshops and conferences particularly on technology, financial aid, and enrollment management topics.
Education (2)
Nazareth College: MS, Management
Ithaca College: BS, Health Services Administration
Selected Media Appearances (4)
How to Complete the CSS Profile
US News and World Report print
2023-10-05
"For some students, any kind of form can be a challenge to fill out," says Samantha Veeder, university senior director of enrollment and financial aid at the University of Rochester in New York. "But it is absolutely necessary in order for colleges and universities to gather the data that they need to award their limited financial aid grants and scholarships in a way that's equitable."
Dispatch From a Post–Affirmative Action NACAC College
Inside Higher Ed online
2023-09-25
Perhaps the most consequential shift aside from affirmative action is the upcoming revision to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA. This year the form is set to launch two months later than usual and include a slew of changes that Congress has billed as “FAFSA simplification.” “In our office, we’re calling it FAFSA complication,” said panelist Sam Veeder, director of financial aid at the University of Rochester. “It’s going to make things a lot harder to navigate for many families and many of you, and it’s going to be important to get out ahead of it.”
College Board Plans ‘Lighter, Shorter’ CSS Profile — Now Free for Families Earning Less Than $100,000
The Chronicle of Higher Education online
2021-09-22
The College Board says that it’s working with colleges to create a shorter, simpler version of the CSS Profile that colleges could use instead of the existing application. Samantha Veeder, chairwoman of the College Board’s CSS/Financial Assistance Assembly Council, said that the new version of the form would be more user-friendly, with fewer questions and “a lot more intuitive skip logic” that would factor out inapplicable questions for each applicant. The College Board and CSS Profile institutions, she added, are working to streamline the existing form as well, eliminating unnecessary questions.
The Class of 2024 settles in
University of Rochester online
2020-08-24
The admissions staffs of the College and and the Eastman School of Music faced daunting challenges in the spring of 2020: to stay connected with students who had been admitted to the incoming Class of 2024, while finalizing that class without campus tours or in-person discussions.
Social