Applying for Financial Aid

1. Apply for Admission to a degree granting program at the University of Maryland.
   • To be considered for Merit-based Aid from UM , prospective freshmen students must submit all admissions materials by November 1. Transfer students will need to submit the admissions application no later than March 1 for the fall term. Spring transfer students will need to submit the admissions application no later than November 15 to be considered for Merit-based aid.
   • Applying for financial aid at the University of Maryland starts with your admission application. Only students admitted to the University will be considered for financial aid, but don't wait until you receive your admission decision to apply for aid. Apply for aid by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
   • Priority consideration is given to applications received before the priority deadline, February 15.


2. Every January, complete the FAFSA and enter the University of Maryland school code 002103-00.
   This process covers the following aid programs :
   • You may choose to complete the FAFSA interactively on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm . This is the preferred method. Alternatively, you may pick up a FAFSA from a local library, college, or high-school, or print it out directly and here is a worksheet to help you organize your information.
   • CAUTION! As the name Free Application for Federal Student Aid implies, applying for federal student aid is FREE. Be cautious of companies charging a fee, the fee is for their assistance filling out forms, not for the actual application.
   • The Department of Education has launched a site at www.college.gov which includes sections on why to go to college, how to apply for admission, and a great section on how to pay for it. Check it out, it is a great site. Another great site is CollegeBoard a not-for-profit organization serving students and their parents


3. Meet the UM Priority Deadline for maximum consideration for aid
   • Please submit your form early to ensure adequate time for mailing and receipt by the processor. To meet this deadline, you may need to report estimated federal tax data. There is no penalty for filing estimated figures, but you must correct your estimates on the Student Aid Report (SAR) once your actual federal tax returns are completed.
   • The priority deadline is February 15th.


4. MD residents should apply for Maryland State Aid
   • To be eligible for many state aid programs, you must submit a FAFSA listing a Maryland school postmarked by March 1st. Some programs require additional steps. For more information, visit the Maryland State Scholarship Administration (MSSA).


5. Search for Scholarships.
   • Try to collect all of your scholarship application materials by the January or February immediately prior to the academic year for which you are applying for aid. Most scholarship application deadlines are in the March or April prior to the beginning of the academic year.


6. Review your Student Aid Report (SAR)
   • Three to five business days after you have submitted your FAFSA, the federal processor will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR is a summary of your FAFSA data. Please review it and make sure all of your information is correct. If you need to make corrections, do so online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or mail a corrected SAR to the federal processor. If all of your information is correct, keep your SAR for your records.
   • The federal processor will also send us a copy of your SAR data, you do NOT have to send your SAR to the University.
   • Disregard any verification notices on your SAR. If your SAR states that you have been selected for verification, please do NOT send your tax forms to UM. We have a separate verification process and will notify you by email if additional information is needed.


7. Await notification from the Office of Student Financial Aid.
   • One to two weeks after we receive your SAR data, we will review your data and determine if we need to clarify or verify any of your information. If we do, we will send you a request for additional documents. Please make sure you provide the student’s name and social security number and all required signatures on all documents, especially tax forms.
   • In April and May we will start sending students Financial Aid Notifications which includes an award letter and instructions on applying for student loans.

Application Tips

Explore the Additional Resources page.

Review and print Important Dates to Remember.

Earn as much as possible over the summer and during the breaks. For information about on-campus and off-campus employment, contact the Career Center.

See How We Determine Your Eligibility For Aid or skip to Accepting Your Awards.

Please contact us via email or phone (301-314-9000 or 1-888-313-2404) if you have questions about the application process.