Applying for Financial Aid

Important Application Info

UMFK’s school code is 002041. Please add this school code to your FAFSA.

• Complete your FAFSA online at the Federal Student Aid website.
• You can find more details at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ website.

Applying for Financial Aid

All students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online. Applying online is quick, easy, and streamlines the application process to reduce errors.

When completing a FAFSA, you’ll want to ensure you have all the required signatures. Most unmarried students under 24 require two signatures: their own and a parent’s. If you’re completing the FAFSA online, you can either print the signature page and mail the signed page to the Department of Education, or you (and your parent) can create an FSA ID through the U.S. Department of Education. This ID will be your signature(s) when submitting the FAFSA online. While an FSA ID is not required to submit a FAFSA online, using one is faster, easier, and more convenient. Your FSA ID can be used year to year, and parents can use the same ID to sign their own student FAFSA or those of multiple children from one year to the next. Returning students can access their Renewal FAFSA online yearly using their FSA ID. Safeguard your FSA ID.

You should gather all necessary information before completing your FAFSA. A worksheet is available online and can be helpful as you organize information before completing the form.

If this is your first time applying for aid, visit the Federal Student Aid website and, under the Apply for Aid menu, click Complete the FAFSA Form. If you’ve already filed a FAFSA for the previous year, follow the FAFSA renewal process, which will pre-populate answers to some questions for you. Be sure to choose the FAFSA for the correct academic year.

Once filed, you can check on the status of your FAFSA, print your Student Aid Report, make corrections, or add another school to receive your data through the FAFSA application on the Federal Student Aid website.

You should file your FAFSA by the priority deadline of March 1st to be considered an “on time” applicant and receive full consideration for all aid programs. To meet that deadline, we highly recommend filing your FAFSA by February 1st.

NOTE: To save time, we recommend using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to enter your Federal 1040 tax figures onto your FAFSA automatically. You can only use this tool after filing your taxes with the IRS, so students and parents should file their Federal taxes early.

Using income data from a completed federal income tax form is best. However, you may use an estimate if necessary. If you estimate your tax information on your FAFSA, you must make corrections if any information changes once the official tax return has been filed.

While completed financial aid applications will be considered at any time during the academic year, some assistance programs may be exhausted if you file after the March 1st deadline.

Verification

Sometimes, the U.S. Department of Education (or the school) selects an application for verification, which means that additional information or clarification is needed before we can process your application. If selected for this process, you’ll need to provide us with other documents before we can review your file and determine your aid package.

Your “To Do” list in your MaineStreet Student Center will list any required documents. For first-time students, you will receive a letter by mail from us requesting the information, and the request will also be posted on your MaineStreet “To Do” List.

Typically, the Verification process consists of providing a Verification Worksheet, which you can download online from the UMFK portal. We no longer ask for 1040 forms, but you might be required to provide an IRS tax transcript. You can request tax transcripts from the IRS website.

Responding quickly to our requests ensures a timely review of your application.

Answers to Your FAFSA Questions

Please check out the links below if you still have questions about the FAFSA application process.