How to Apply, Step-by-Step

 

College of Menominee Nation's Federal School Code: 031251

 

Students requesting financial aid must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As the name states, the FAFSA is free and can be filed on the web to eliminate delays in processing. To be considered for the maximum number of financial aid sources, students should submit their FAFSA before April 15. Students should be aware that some forms of financial aid are limited and filing after April 15 may result in the loss of aid. Note: Outside funding sources (such as certain tribal grants) may have earlier deadlines.

 

Students seeking funding from outside agencies such as tribal funding or veterans benefits may be required to follow additional steps.

 

Follow these steps to apply for 2012-2013 Financial Aid. Contact us afterwards if you have any questions.

1. Obtain Federal PIN (Personal Identification Number).

• This will act as electronic signatures on the FAFSA. The student obtains a PIN at pin.ed.gov.
• If you are a dependent student, your parents must also obtain a PIN.

2. Complete the FAFSA.

• As soon as possible after January 1, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• We encourage students and parents to file Federal Tax Returns earlier than they may have in the past.
• Consider using IRS Data Retrieval when completing your FAFSA. Beginning in February some students can use the FAFSA's IRS Data Retrieval option to link to the IRS and transfer tax return data to their FAFSA. While this can be an easy way to provide accurate tax information on the FAFSA it is not available to everyone, and students and parents who use it may still be required to submit tax return transcripts to the College of Menominee Nation Financial Aid Office. To use this option it must be at least 2 weeks since you filed your Federal Tax Return electronically, or at least 6-8 weeks if you filed a paper return. IRS Data Retrieval is not available if a person is married but filed separately or married but filed as head of household, or if an amended tax return was filed, or to those who file Puerto Rican or foreign tax returns.
• For help prior to filing online, see 2012-2013 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet.
• CMN's school code is 031251.
• "The Five Minute FAFSA"

3. Complete and submit Indian Scholarship Application

• Enrolled Tribal members should contact their Higher Education department to complete and submit their Indian Scholarship application for the BIA Grant. Every tribe will have their own set deadlines and required documents. Please check with your tribe for further questions.

4. Receive a Student Aid Report (SAR).

• The SAR will arrive either by e-mail or by U.S. mail. The SAR summarizes the information you provided on the FAFSA, and indicates the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).The EFC is the amount of money your family will be expected to contribute to your education. Note that financial aid offices sometimes change the EFC based on additional information. The EFC is subtracted from the College of Menominee Nation Cost of Attendance (COA) to arrive at your financial need.
• If you have not received the SAR within a few weeks from the date of filing or if you would like to check the status of your FAFSA, you may use any of the following options: go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and select 'Check Status of submitted FAFSA', call 1-800-433-3243 toll-free for an automated response or 319-337-5665 to speak with a person (toll), or for the hearing impaired, call the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913.

5. Review the SAR.

• If any corrections are necessary, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and select ‘Make Corrections to a processed FAFSA’.

6. Schools receive the student's data.

• Once we receive your FAFSA, we will contact you, usually by email, to let you know if there are any issues with your FAFSA. If we need any other forms, we will also notify you at that time. DO NOT submit tax returns unless we specifically request them.
• New for 2012-13: If we request tax documents be aware that we will need Tax Return Transcripts from the IRS instead of tax returns (IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ). For details on how to obtain these see "Order a Tax Return or Account Transcript" at www.irs.gov. Be aware that tax return transcripts may be needed even if you use the FAFSA's IRS Data Retrieval option. Other documents such as W-2 forms or Verification Documents may be requested as well.
• Students can track which forms have been received and which are still needed by tracking your status at My Empower: http://empower.menominee.edu/fusebox.cfm .

7. Aid is awarded.

• You will be sent an letter and/or email which will give you instructions for accepting your financial aid online.

8. Respond to the award.

• Accept or decline offered aid through your My Empower: http://empower.menominee.edu/fusebox.cfm located on the Financials Tab.

9. Aid is disbursed.

• You can track which funds have been disbursed into your tuition account by accessing your My Empower.
• In the Financials Tab, click on Billing Detail Summary. You can see all aid applied to your account, financial aid still pending, your tuition balance and any refunds that were sent to you.

Note:

Financial Aid is given on an annual basis. A student must reapply each year.

 

Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress

 

Summer Aid: The 2011-2012 FAFSA is used to apply for Summer 2012.

 

Important Note Concerning Your Address and E-mail: We send most correspondence to students at their College of Menominee student email address and/or mailing address. To keep both addresses current please check and update your information frequently.