Who should apply for financial aid?
How do I apply for financial aid?
Where can I get a FAFSA?
When do I apply?
What kind of information do I need to put
on my FAFSA?
What happens after I apply?
What if I have to make changes to my FAFSA?
Should I use the services of a consultant?
How does the State determine how much
aid I’m eligible for?
What other requirements do I have
to meet to be eligible?
How will I know if I am awarded financial
aid?
How is my college notified of my award?
When is my award paid to my college?
What is verification?
Can I appeal the Maryland Higher Education
Commission’s decision?
Financial Aid Calculator
Every student who would like help with college costs. Do not
assume you are not eligible for financial aid.
Each year, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid,
also known as the FAFSA. By filing a FAFSA, you will be considered
for:
- State of Maryland financial aid
- Federal financial aid
- Institutional financial aid
Check with all the colleges you are considering applying
to for their financial aid requirements and deadlines. They may have supplemental
forms you need to complete.
FAFSAs for the new school year can be filed after January
1st prior to the academic year for which you are applying. You can get them from:
Online (electronically) by accessing www.fafsa.ed.gov
If you do not have access to file online, you may call
1-800-433-3243 to obtain a paper copy.
It is recommended that the FAFSA or renewal FAFSA be filed
between January 1 and March 1 each year. It must be received
by the federal processor no later than March 1 to receive the fullest consideration
for State grants.
NOTE: College deadlines may differ; check with all
the colleges you are considering for their deadlines.
The FAFSA asks for your family’s financial information.
You and your parents (if you are a dependent student) will
complete the FAFSA. You will each need to use information
from your most recent Federal income tax returns.
NOTE: Filling out your tax return first will make
completing the FAFSA easier. However, if you or your parents
won’t have your current year tax returns done before
the March 1 deadline, use last year’s returns to carefully
estimate your answers on the FAFSA. You can correct them later.
Along with the tax return information, you may need:
- Bank Statements
- W-2 forms
- Benefit Statements from Social Security, Social Services,
or other agencies as applicable.
These items are required even if you and your parents (if
you are dependent) will not file a Federal income tax return.
Other things you should know
about filing a FAFSA:
- You and your
parents (if you are a dependent student) will need Personal
Identification Numbers (PINs) to sign the FAFSA
electronically. PINs can be obtained online when you file
your FAFSA.
- Errors on your FAFSA could result in losing an award.
Complete the FAFSA carefully and accurately.
- For assistance with the form, call the U.S. Department
of Education Student Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.
- Maryland requires
that you list your actual Maryland street address,
even if you use an APO or a Post Office Box.
- List all schools you are considering attending.
You may list up to 10 schools online.
- Include a Maryland college for Maryland financial aid
consideration.
- List the Federal Title IV Institution Code for each
school.
This can be obtained from
-
www.finaid.org
- High School
- College financial aid office
- U.S.
Department of Education, 1-800-433-3243
- Public Library
- Maryland Higher Education Commission
If the Title IV code cannot be found, enter the college’s
full name, city and state.
Your FAFSA will be checked for completeness. If an item is
left blank, the form may not be processed or will be returned to you. This could cause your
application to be late.
An electronically
filed FAFSA will take approximately 3 days
to process. A paper FAFSA application will take about four
weeks to process.
After the FAFSA is processed, you will receive a report of
your answers to the FAFSA questions via
email if you filed electronically or via regular mail if you
filed a paper FAFSA. This is called
a Student Aid Report (SAR). Your SAR will tell you your expected
family contribution (EFC). This is how much money you and
your family are expected to contribute toward your college expenses.
Review your SAR carefully. If you need to make corrections,
you may do so online using your PIN. You may also make
address and school corrections online. If you filed a
paper FAFSA, you may make corrections directly on your SAR.
Be sure to correct any information that was estimated.
If you make
corrections after March 15, be sure to send a copy of the
reprocessed SAR to the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
Keep a copy for your records.
Make sure you are not paying for services that are available
for free from your high school guidance office, the public
library, a college financial aid office, the Internet,
or from the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
When you file the FAFSA, your information is processed using
a formula from the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended,
and the result is your EFC. The Maryland Higher Education
Commission uses your EFC to calculate your eligibility for
Maryland financial aid.
Schools will award a
Federal Pell Grant to students whose EFC falls below a
certain level. The amount of a Pell Grant is determined by
EFC and enrollment status (full-time, part-time)
Your financial need for State awards is the difference between:
- Cost of Attendance
- EFC
- Federal Pell Grant
(if any)
- Certain other State awards (if awarded)
1. Students and parents (if a dependent student) must be Maryland
residents for:
- 12 months prior to starting a four-year college
- 3 months prior to starting a two-year college
- 3 months prior to starting a private career school
To be considered Maryland residents you must meet all of
the following conditions;
- Own, rent, or occupy living quarters in Maryland
- Keep most of your personal property in Maryland
- Pay Maryland income tax on any of your earned income
- Register all vehicles in Maryland
- Have a valid Maryland driver’s license (if you drive)
- Be registered to vote in Maryland (if you are registered
to vote)
- Receive no public assistance from another state or entity
2. Be active duty military
(or a dependent of) stationed in Maryland
3. Be Maryland residents in the military who are stationed
elsewhere
To be considered independent, you must meet at least one
of the following conditions:
- You are age 24 or older.
- You are married.
- You are a graduate or professional student beyond a bachelor’s
degree.
- You have a dependent other than a spouse.
- You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
- You are an orphan or ward of the court or were a ward
of the court until age 18.
Enrollment requirements are as follows:
- Full-time undergraduate: 12 credits or more
- Part-time undergraduate: 6 to 11 credits
- Full-time graduate student: 9 or more credits
- Part-time graduate student: 6 to 8 credits
Approximately one third of all students who apply for
financial aid are required to supply documentation that will
verify the information they reported in the FAFSA. If you
are selected for verification you must provide to your
institution:
- A completed verification worksheet
- Copies of signed federal income tax forms (yours and your
parents, if dependent)
- W-2 forms, if requested
- Statements from agencies from which benefits were received,
if any
A difference between the information you
listed on your
FAFSA and the information provided for verification could
result in the reduction or loss of your award.
You will receive award letters from the State of Maryland
and from the colleges to which you have been admitted. Review
these letters carefully and update any incorrect information
on the letter. Award letters must be initialed, signed and
returned.
The Maryland Higher Education Commission notifies each college
by sending them a list of students who have been offered
State
financial aid.
Four to six weeks after your college certifies your enrollment,
your award will be processed for payment to the college. Some
schools may credit the money to a student’s account prior
to that time.
Yes, for several situations. Call or write to the Maryland
Higher Education Commission for details.
November 14, 2011,
our new address is 6
N. Liberty St., Baltimore, MD 21201 | Phone: (410)
767-3301 | Toll Free: (800) 974-0203
