Students who wish to be considered for need-based financial aid must file the appropriate applications each year.  The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal (Pell Grant, Work Study and Perkins & Stafford Loans) programs. 

Deadlines
Calculating Need
Financial Aid Packages
Verification
Commuter Grants
Special Circumstances

Deadlines
The applications should be submitted by February 15 so that they are received by the Financial Aid Office no later than March 15.  Maryland residents should be aware that the State Scholarship Administration requires the FAFSA to be filed no later than March 1 to be considered for any of their programs.

Calculating Need
In order to compute a student's need, the Financial Aid Office must first determine the student's Cost of Attendance (COA).  For a resident student, the COA includes charges for tuition, room & board, plus allowances for books, travel and miscellaneous expenses.  For a non-resident, it includes tuition, plus allowances for living expenses, books, travel and miscellaneous expenses.  After determining the COA, the Financial Aid Office subtracts from it the Expeced Family Contribution (EFC) that is provided by the FAFSA.  That is, Cost of Attendance minus Expected Family Contribution equals NEED.

It is important for the student to understand that a change in enrollment status (full-time to part-time or 3/4-time to 1/2-time) or a change in residence status will affect the Cost of Attendance, thus changing the need and prompting a review of their financial aid package.

Likewise, students who receive additional financial aid after receiving their financial aid package will have their federal aid eligibility reviewed.

Financial Aid Packages
Financial aid packages for returning students are mailed between the final week of May and mid-June.  To accept the offer, students are asked to sign and return a copy of the Award Letter within two weeks.

Verification
A random selection of FAFSA's are selected for verification by the Federal processing system.  Those selected will be required to submit appropriate paperwork, including Federal tax returns for both the student and parents (for dependent students), to the Financial Aid Office.  This request will be made by the Financial Aid Office in early May.  Failure to comply with any of these requests will result in the cancellation of all Federal aid in the student's package.

Commuter Grants
Non-resident students who reside with their nuclear family are considered for the Commuter Grant program.  To be eligible, students with demonstrated need are guaranteed to have the first $7,000 of their need met by the Mount.  Thus, a student whose need is greater than $7,000 will receive, at a minimum, $7,000 from the College.  Those receiving the Commuter Grant can have no more than $7,000 in College funds.

Special Circumstances
Families with unusual expenses (e.g., medical and dental expenses, elementary/high school tuition) should contact the Financial Aid Office in writing detailing these expenses. 

Families who have suffered a loss of income since filing their financial aid applications should submit the Special Condition Worksheet along with a letter of explanation to the Financial Aid Office.