Latest News

The University of Maine at Fort Kent is proud to announce the launch of their Fort Kent Promise Scholarship beginning with the fall 2018 school year. The Fort Kent Promise Scholarship will provide free tuition for Maine Pell-eligible students.

Committing to the Fort Kent Promise Scholarship is in keeping with the mission, vision, and values of UMFK,” said UMFK President John Short. “Too many Maine students are not attending university due to affordability. We exist to serve Mainers and the Fort Kent Promise Scholarship will do exactly that.”

Students are considered Pell-eligible by the federal government based on their family’s income when they submit their Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2016, 53% of families in Aroostook County are living in poverty.  Another 9% are barely above the poverty line.

“We believe that in order to serve our County and our State, we need to make education accessible for all,” said President Short. “This is a step we are taking toward that goal.”

In order to qualify for the Fort Kent Promise Scholarship, an applicant must:

• be an In-State, First time, Full time student admitted beginning the fall 2018 term, who submits the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and completes his/her financial aid application at the University of Maine at Fort Kent by March 31st of the appropriate award year;
• be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and must meet all of the general eligibility requirements of the Federal Title IV Financial Aid programs;
• be a resident of Maine and have lived in state for 12 continuous months prior to acceptance to the University of Maine at Fort Kent;
• have either graduated from high school in Maine, earned a high school equivalency diploma, or have fulfilled any other federally approved "Ability to Benefit" measure;
• be accepted at the University of Maine at Fort Kent and be pursuing his/her first undergraduate degree;
• be enrolled in at least 15 credits per term, delivered by the University of Maine at Fort Kent, and complete at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his/her degree program;
• maintain an accumulative GPA of 2.0.

Funding for this scholarship initiative will come from re-packaging of existing financial aid, combined with some re-investment of new funds in their upcoming budget year, in order to provide a greater benefit to students.

For more information on the Fort Kent Promise Scholarship or UMFK, go to www.umfk.edu or call (207) 834-7500.