All students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA.) This form can either be completed on line, or by paper. Paper forms are available at high schools, or from UMFK. On line filing is recommended if possible, because it is much quicker and it eliminates some errors.

Appropriate signatures are necessary when completing a FAFSA. Most unmarried student applicants who are under the age of 24 years of age, require two signatures, their own and a parent's. If you are completing the FAFSA on-line, you may choose to submit your application online, and print the signature page, then provide the necessary signatures and mail the signed page to the Department of Education. Or, you (and your parent) may request U.S. Department of Education Pin (personal identification number) from the U.S. Department of Education at www.pin.ed.gov. The assigned FAFSA/Pin number will be your signature(s) when submitting the FAFSA online. A PIN is not required to complete and submit a FAFSA on-line, but using a PIN is more convenient, faster and easier. Safe guard your PIN numbers. Your assigned PIN can be used from year to year. Parents can use the same PIN to sign the application of multiple children from one year to the next. Returning students can access their Renewal FAFSA on-line from year to year using their PIN.

It is necessary to gather information before attempting to complete the FAFSA on line. To assist you, please print the FAFSA on the WEB Worksheet:

• For 2008-2009 academic year: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before012.htm

To complete the FAFSA on line, go to www.FAFSA.ed.gov. If this is your first time filing a FAFSA, click the yellow bar "Fill out a FAFSA" in the center of the page. If you filed a FAFSA for the previous year, click the yellow bar "Fill out a Renewal FAFSA," where some of the questions will be pre-populated for you. Be sure to choose the FAFSA for the correct academic year.

Once your FAFSA is filed, you can check on its status, print a copy of your Student Aid Report, make corrections, or add an additional school to receive your data by returning to the yellow bars at the right hand side of the page.

To be considered an "on time" applicant and receive full consideration for all aid programs, you need to meet our priority deadline of March 1st. In order to ensure that your application will be complete by that date, we recommend filing your FAFSA by February 1st. Although it is best to use income data from a completed federal income tax form, you may estimate if necessary. If you estimate, you are required to make corrections, if any information changes once the tax return has been completed. Completed applications for financial aid will be considered at any time during the academic year; however, you may find that some assistance programs will be exhausted if you file beyond the March 1st deadline.

Sometimes additional information or clarification is required or the U.S. Dept. of Education selects the application for a process called Verification. If selected for this process, additional documents will be requested. We will send the student a letter of notification of verification. Verification forms can be downloaded from the financial aid section of WebDSIS. Please respond as quickly as possible to our requests to ensure timely review of your application.