To be eligible for federal financial aid, a student must meet the following criteria: 

• Complete a valid FAFSA and provide consent to have your federal tax information transferred to your FAFSA form. 
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• Be enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by your program. 

For more information about financial aid options for students who do not meet the listed criteria, please visit the eligibility for international students and the Alternative Loans sections. 

The simplest way to file a FAFSA is online through studentaid.gov. In order to file a FAFSA, every contributor (you, your spouse, your parent, or your parent's spouse) will need a StudentAid.gov account. It is recommended all required contributors create their account before starting the FAFSA form.  

Students who want to file a paper FAFSA must call 1-800-4-FED-AID. They can provide a paper FAFSA by mail.

Required Documents

To file the 2024-2025 FAFSA, you will need:

• the login information for your StudentAid.gov account

Dependent students will need the following parental information to invite their parents as contributors to the FAFSA: 

• parent's full name
• parent's birth date
• parent's Social Security Number (SSN
• parent's valid email address
  
  

Married students who file taxes separately will need the following information to invite their spouse as a contributor to the FAFSA:

• spouse's full name
• spouse's birth date
• spouse's Social Security Number (SSN)
  
  

You and your contributor(s) may also need some of the following documents: 

• Tax returns
• Records of child support received
• Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms

For more detailed information on filling out the FAFSA form and instructional videos, students can visit the Federal Student Aid site. 

Students can now complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA, which covers the summer 2024, fall 2024, and spring 2025 terms. 

UMB has a priority filing date of March 1. To be considered for institutional grant funds, students must complete their FAFSA by the priority deadline.

Students who complete the FAFSA after the priority award date are still eligible for federal students loans. However, due to limited resources, institutional funds for some programs may not be available.

Maryland Resident State Awards

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) has extended its FAFSA deadline. Maryland residents have until June 1, 2024, to be considered for state awards. But, students should submit the FAFSA by the priority deadline of March 1, 2024 to receive a notice of eligibility by April 15, 2024.

After successfully submitting the FAFSA, the application will be processed by the Department of Education. Once processed, it will take approximately 3-5 business days for UMB to receive a student's FAFSA. 

UMB will then review the student's eligibility and establish the cost of attendance for the student's program and residency status.  Once eligibility is determined, the aid offer will be made during the automatic awarding process. Students will receive an email notification with additional instructions when their aid offer is available on SURFS.