The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) determines your eligibility for all federal student aid programs and all need-based UNE funds and must be filed annually.
The FAFSA is filed electronically and must include UNE’s Institution Code, which is 002050.
You may complete the FAFSA before filing your taxes using estimated figures. However, you will need to update your FAFSA once your taxes are complete. The IRS Direct Data Exchange (DDX) may be used to update your information roughly two weeks after you have filed your tax forms.
The use of the IRS Direct Data Exchange will be mandatory beginning with the 2024–2025 FAFSA.
Before You Fill Out The FAFSA
Determine Your Eligibility
You must meet certain eligibility requirements for financial aid. Review your eligibility status prior to filing your FAFSA.
Apply for Your FAFSA ID
Completing and submitting your FAFSA requires that you apply for an FSA ID from the Department of Education.
If your parents are providing their own information on your application, they will need to obtain their own FSA ID (be sure to use separate emails for each ID).
You will be able to sign your FAFSA electronically as soon as you obtain your FSA ID. It will take a few days for the Social Security Administration to verify your information before you can use the ID to log into federal websites.
Determining Dependency Status
Your financial aid is awarded based on your dependency status as determined by the federal government. Based on answers provided on your FAFSA about age, degree plan, marital status, etc., dependency status will be determined and aid awarded accordingly.
Determining Financial Need and Award
After submitting your application, you'll receive your Student Aid Index (SAI). The SAI replaces what was previously known as the Estimated Financial Contribution (EFC). The FAFSA form calculates your SAI using the “Federal Methodology,” which estimates the contribution of both students and “contributors” (generally parents or legal guardians). This is not, however, the amount you will actually pay. Your SAI is determined by the income and assets (excluding the value of your primary home) of you and your contributors.
Also considered is your Cost of Attendance (COA): the estimated expenses you will incur that the Financial Aid Office can recognize. Charges that appear on your bill are direct costs and include tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board. Indirect costs are factored into the COA but are not charged to your bill. These include allotments for books and supplies, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Additional Resources
In order to receive vital Student Financial Services communications and complete any financial aid process requirements, you must set up your UNE accounts as soon as possible.
Upon electronic receipt of your FAFSA and acceptance into an eligible degree program, UNE will determine your financial aid eligibility.
New Students
If you are a new student to UNE, your financial aid offer will be sent to the email address provided on your FAFSA.
Returning Students
If you are a returning UNE student, your financial aid offer will be sent to your UNE email address.
Corrections
If your information is incomplete, you may be required to file corrections before your application can be processed. Corrections can be made by updating your FAFSA.
Verification
If you are selected for verification (a process by which UNE is required to review federally selected students for accuracy of FAFSA data) you will not receive a finalized financial aid offer until your FAFSA data has been verified.
You will be notified of verification, other outstanding requirements, and important financial aid information through UNE email and your UNE Compass account.
It is very important to provide the requested documents as fast as possible to avoid delay in your financial aid offer.
When you receive your final offer letter, you must log in to UNE Compass to accept the terms and conditions and then accept or decline any offered aid. Any gift aid is automatically applied to your bill.
It is your responsibility to notify us of all financial assistance you will receive from outside sources like private scholarships, tuition waivers, and certain veteran educational benefits. Federal regulations require that we consider all other tuition assistance before we calculate the financial aid award UNE can offer you.
You will receive important financial information through UNE email and your UNE Compass account. You can use the instructions at une.edu/newstudentinstructions to help you access your UNE accounts.
Learn how to accept your financial aid award
Title IV Authorization
Students must authorize the University to apply federal financial aid funding to non-educational charges on their bill. We’ll need you to make a decision on this and complete the requirement on UNE Compass.
If you wish to permit Student Financial Services professional staff to engage in any kind of conversation (i.e. in person, phone or email) regarding your account and financial aid, you will need to complete an Authorization for Release of Information. This requirement on your UNE Compass account only applies if you are authorizing others to speak with us. Choosing not to complete this form will not affect your financial aid.
The financial aid you are awarded may not cover all of your direct costs. In that event, a balance will be due. Here are a few ways to help fund the remaining balance.
Scholarships
We encourage UNE students to search for outside scholarships. Our policy is to let outside scholarships fill any unmet financial need as part of your financial aid award. In the event award adjustments are in fact necessary, we will first attempt to reduce loans and/or work-study funding.
An effective way to reduce student loan borrowing is to access as many scholarships as possible. We urge you to research available scholarships and take advantage of as many as you can every year you are in school.
Great resources for finding scholarships include guidance counselors, parents’ employers, local organizations, and banks. We’ve developed a Scholarship Search Tool as well as a comprehensive list of the best scholarship search engines and tools on our Money Matters page.
Past Earnings
If you have a plan in place to help pay for college, we recommend you use those funds to pay off any balance. Past earnings are monies saved or received that are already on hand. This can be a college savings plan, trust account, investment dividends, etc.
Present Earnings
If you can access current earnings on a monthly basis, we recommend you enroll in our Tuition Payment Plan. Your payment plan amount will be based on the remaining balance due after other payment arrangements (i.e. financial aid, private loans, outside scholarships) are put in place. To maximize the number of months for your payment plan, enroll as soon as you receive your new bill.
Future Earnings
Parent Loans (PLUS) and Private Loans are available when looking for ways to pay the remaining balance after Financial Aid and personal funds are applied.
Financial Aid funds are scheduled to disburse (payout) to your account at the start of each semester and are applied to any outstanding charges.
Please consult the disbursement schedule to determine when your funds will pay out according to your academic calendar. Financial aid funds disburse electronically unless you are notified otherwise.