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Financing Your Undergraduate Education

Welcome!
We are pleased to offer undergraduate and graduate students a variety of ways to finance their education while in attendance at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. There are Federal Aid, State Aid, Alternative/Private Loans, and St. Mary’s Scholarships and Grants.

Our Philosophy
St. Mary's believes that no qualified student should be denied the right to pursue an education because of inadequate financial resources. We understand that financing a college education requires careful planning. Our financial aid office will work with families to create these plans. Although we believe it is primarily the responsibility of the parents and student to finance a college education, we help bridge the gap between family resources and need by offering federal, state, and campus-based programs, including a tuition payment plan.

Federal Aid
Federal student aid is financial assistance through the U.S. Department of Education available to eligible students enrolled in eligible programs* as regular students* at schools participating in the federal student aid programs. Federal student aid covers school expenses such as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies and transportation. All students who are accepted to the college and who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are automatically considered for federal, state, and college financial assistance programs

Students applying for federal financial assistance or educational loans must be United States citizens or permanent resident aliens. Non-U.S. citizens may apply for need-based aid from St. Mary's by submitting the International Student Financial Aid Application. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for details.

Type of Federal Financial Aid

• Need Based Grants
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Academicc Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
• SMART Grant

• Student Loans (Need Based):
• Stafford Loan
• Perkins Loan

• Student Loans (Non-Need Based):
• Unsubsidized Loans

• Parent Loans:
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Federal Grad PLUS Loan

 State Aid
The State has an extensive array of financial aid programs in the form of grants, scholarships and other awards for students who want to further their education beyond high school.  Financial aid is money that helps you pay for higher education. Merit-based financial aid is aid given to students who have special talents, skills, or who have earned good grades. Need-based financial aid is given to students who demonstrate that they have financial need.

Maryland state aid is for residents of the state of Maryland.  For out of state students, please check with your individual states to see what financial aid might be available.

To find out more about Financial Aid offered by the state of Maryland, got to:
http://www.mhec.state.md.us/ .

St. Mary’s Scholarship and Grants
General merit scholarships are awarded to a select number of admitted first-year and transfer students. All applicants to the college are reviewed by the Scholarship Review Committee with consideration in the areas of academic record, standardized test scores, recommendations, essay, and resume of co-curricular activities.

• Scholarships and Grants

Aid Programs - Outside Sources
When trying to locate money for college, students are not limited to the financial aid offered to them by St. Mary’s College of Maryland. In addition to federal, state, and institutional aid, outside civic and private organizations often have money to offer students that apply.

A collection of outside grant, scholarship, and self-help programs is listed at:
Outside Sources.

Alternative/Private Loans
Students/Parents may borrow up to the Student's yearly Projected Cost of Attendance minus any other aid the student is receiving (including other student/parent loans). To apply for a private loan borrowers should contact their lender directly.

For a list of lenders, got to: http://www.finaid.org/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml .

International Students: International Students who wish to be considered for Financial Aid must fill out and International Student Financial Aid Application.

Payment Plans
Information about payment plans is available from the Business Office at http://www.smcm.edu/businessoffice/paymentinfo.html