ORONO — Maine’s public universities will send students who have applied for fall admission estimated financial aid award letters starting March 1, despite the federal government’s delays in processing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. 

The FAFSA helps the federal government determine eligibility for federal financial aid, including student loans, Pell grants and Federal Work-Study. 

States and individual institutions also rely on the information to inform financial aid decisions, such as eligibility for the Maine State Grant administered by the Finance Authority of Maine or need-based scholarships including those funded through University of Maine System (UMS) license plate sales. 

At the direction of Congress and with the support of the higher education community, the U.S. Department of Education recently revamped the FAFSA with the goal to make it easier for students and families and expand access to aid. But there have been technical difficulties and months-long delays in its roll-out and getting institutions the information they need to determine what students are eligible to receive.  

To support prospective students and their families in their planning for fall admission, Maine’s public universities have worked together to develop a predictive financial aid eligibility model that can be used to create an estimated financial aid package inclusive of both need-based and merit aid upon student request. 

All prospective UMS students have been notified of their ability to request an estimated financial aid letter, which will be mailed directly by the universities starting March 1. 

Those estimates will be verified against the actual FAFSA data when the federal government eventually provides it, hopefully in mid-March, and will enable students and families to begin their decision-making earlier. 

“We recognize the difficulties this federal delay has caused for the overwhelming majority of our students who, despite our nation-leading affordability, depend upon financial aid to access their door-opening University of Maine System education and opportunity,” said UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy, in a news release.

“As we await applicants' official eligibility information from the U.S. Department of Education, Maine’s public universities have developed an innovative mechanism to ensure students are supported in their planning and pursuit of postsecondary education and economic mobility. We encourage prospective students to request their estimated financial aid award immediately so we can let them know how affordable and accessible their high-quality University of Maine System education will likely be.”

According to the most recent System data, 86% of all degree-seeking undergraduate students were awarded some form of financial aid, which is typically dependent on FAFSA completion. 

Last academic year (2022-23), UMS students benefited from $134.3 million in federal financial aid, $14.9 million in state financial aid and $107.7 million in institutional aid, including $106.9 million in university scholarships, grants and waivers that do not need to be repaid. The System’s publicly available student financial aid report is online here. 

Maine’s public universities have not yet pushed back application or deposit deadlines. While May 1 is known as National College Decision Day, as part of a commitment to access, most UMS institutions accept applications and deposits after that date on a rolling basis. Students, however, are highly encouraged to confirm as soon as possible to ensure they receive the greatest amount of financial aid and enrollment in preferred programs, courses and campus housing. 

For more information, including deadlines:

University of Maine Office of Admissions: go.umaine.edu
University of Maine at Augusta Office of Admissions: uma.edu/admission
University of Maine at Farmington Office of Admissions: umf.maine.edu/admissions-aid
University of Maine at Fort Kent Office of Admissions: umfk.edu/admissions
University of Maine at Machias Office of Admissions: machias.edu/admissions
University of Maine at Presque Isle Office of Admissions: umpi.edu/admissions

University of Southern Maine Office of Admissions: usm.maine.edu/office-of-admissions
University of Maine School of Law Office of Admissions: mainelaw.maine.edu/admissions