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Apply for Aid - New Students
Step 1
SUBMIT A FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA) BY MARCH 2ND.
The FAFSA determines a student's eligibility for most federal and state grant awards, institutional aid, and federal student loans. You can file the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov. Cal Maritime's Federal School Code is 001134. The priority deadline to submit your FAFSA is March 2, 2012.
The FAFSA collects information about your family's finances and household size. Recently, the Department of Education had partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to create the IRS Data Retrieval System to making filing the FAFSA easier. Important things to know:
- File your 2011 income tax return as early as possible
- Approximately three weeks from when you electronically file your 2011 tax return, you will be able to automatically retrieve your income information from the IRS to auto-fill a portion of your FAFSA. (If you mail your 2011 tax return, the processing time will be approximately eight weeks.)
- If you fill out your FAFSA before filing your 2011 tax return, you can log back onto www.fafsa.gov and “make corrections” using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
Step 2:
SUBMIT YOUR CAL GRANT GPA VERIFICATION FORM BY MARCH 2ND (for California Residents Only).
Cal Grant awards are state funded awards that pay your mandatory tuition for up to four years. To be considered for a Cal Grant award, students must submit a FAFSA and send a GPA verification form directly to the California Student Aid Commission. The GPA verification form can be found at www.csac.ca.gov. The deadline to submit the GPA verification form is March 2, 2012.
Step 3:
SUBMIT ALL REQUESTED VERIFICATION DOCUMENTS.
Your FAFSA may be selected for a process called verification. If you are selected, we will notify you via email and place items on your "To Do List" located at the Student Center through your Student Portal. You should receive access to your Student Portal at Cal Maritime in Early March. Once you have access to your Student Portal, you will need to complete any "To Do List" items before we can award you aid.
Step 4:
ACCEPT/DECLINE THE FINANCIAL AID AWARDS YOU WERE OFFERED.
You will receive an email when your financial aid awards have been posted. You will be asked to accept and/or decline the awards you were offered through your Student Portal (your access is coming in early March). To learn about your awards you were offered, visit our website at www.csum.edu/web/admissions/financial-aid.
Step 5:
COMPLETE A PROMISSORY NOTE FOR YOUR FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS.
If you accepted your first Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan as part of your financial aid offer, you will have to complete a Federal Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at www.studentloans.gov. You will need the PIN number you used to file the FAFSA.
Step 6:
COMPLETE ENTRANCE COUNSELING FOR YOUR FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS.
Loan counseling is a mandatory requirement to receive your Direct Loan Funds. To complete this requirement, visit www.studentloans.gov. You will need the PIN number you used to file the FAFSA.
