Financial Aid Toolbox - Financial Aid

You can list multiple schools of interest on these tests. To have your ACT/SAT scores sent to NMU, list NMU's college code when you register to take the test.

• NMU's college code for the ACT is 2038
• NMU's college code for the SAT is 1560

To be considered for financial aid at Northern Michigan University you need to apply and be admitted to NMU into a degree-seeking program. Northern cannot give you consideration for financial aid until you have formally been accepted. 

You will need records of income earned in the year prior to when you will start school. You may also need records of your parents' income information if you are a dependent student or spouse if you are married. 

• W-2 forms and other records of money earned
• Federal Income Tax Return (IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ or Foreign Tax Return or Tax Return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federal States of Micronesia or Palau)
• Untaxed income records
• Current bank statements, business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond and other investment records
• Amount of child support paid or received

Go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa to complete your FAFSA. You will need to include NMU's Federal school code, which is 002301.

• NMU does not have a financial aid application deadline.  However, we recommend you complete your FAFSA by March 1 to receive maximum consideration for all types of aid.
• You must fill out a new FAFSA each year for financial aid. The FAFSA is available after October 1 of the year before you plan to attend.
• If you are able to use the data retrieval tool in the FAFSA to link your IRS information, it will simplify the process.
• If you prefer to complete a paper FAFSA, call FAFSA 1-800-4-FED-AID to request a paper FAFSA to be sent to you.

Receive your Student Aid Report - it will be sent via e-mail or mailed to you.

This document will come to you from the FAFSA processor.  The Student Aid Report will explain your "expected family contribution" (EFC). This is a very important document to read and understand.

• The EFC is an index of the family's financial strength based on income, assets, family size, etc., submitted on the FAFSA.
• The EFC does not represent your actual amount due to the school.

Review your Student Aid Report.

If there are issues with any of the information reported on your FAFSA, they will be listed in the comment section of the Student Aid Report.

Review the Student Aid Report to ensure all information is correct.

Corrections can be made online at FAFSA or on the paper Student Aid Report.  Make sure to sign the updated paper Student Aid Report and mail it to the FAFSA processor.

It may take Northern Michigan University up to two weeks to receive your FAFSA information from the date you complete the FAFSA.

• You will be considered for financial aid if you have been admitted to a degree-seeking program.
• NMU financial aid staff checks for problems and/or inconsistencies in your FAFSA application information and may request additional information.

Be prepared for the verification process.

Each year the U.S. Department of Education selects a portion of all FAFSA applicants for verification. If selected, you will be asked to provide documentation to the university confirming the information entered on your FAFSA.

• If you are selected for verification, you will be notified in the comment section of your Student Aid Report.
• NMU's financial aid office will contact you to identify documents needed to complete the verification process.
• You can also view outstanding requirements on your MyNMU account under the financial aid link.

This is such a critical point that it bears a second notation. If we e-mail or send postal mail to you, it means we have a question! Please respond as quickly as possible. Additional information regarding outstanding verification documents can be viewed on your MyNMU account. Be sure to check both the "Student Requirements" link and the "Active Messages" link.  Instructions on how to view your financial aid. 

Here is a list of things that can slow the financial aid process down:

• Not sending in the required paperwork.
• Forgetting to sign documents.
• Leaving sections of the documents blank - fill in everything, including those questions where the answer is zero.
• Not putting your name (the student) and NMU identification number on everything. This is especially important for families where student and parent last names are different.

If you still have questions, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 906-227-2327.

Northern Michigan University does not mail paper bills. Billing statements are available for viewing online at payment.nmu.edu/ebill and all students are notified via their NMU e-mail accounts when their bill is available. The statements outline the charges, provide a due date and explain how to pay the bill.

• You can give your parents access to view your billing statements online and make payments on your behalf. To do so, log on to e-bill, click on the "authorized users" tab and enter your parents' e-mail address. You are giving written consent that the person you authorized may review your billing account information only. Please note that authorized users do not have access to academic records or other personal information through the Financial Aid Office.  A separate "Release of Information" for Financial Aid can be found here.
• Although NMU has worked hard to make the bill as easy to understand as possible, there is one thing that sometimes confuses students, a negative balance shown on a bill. This is a credit balance, which means that you have more financial aid than is required to meet all the charges.  The credit balance can be refunded to you by check or direct deposit.  Keep in mind, if your refund consists of loans, it may be wise to consider reducing or cancelling your loans.

Northern Michigan University offers three options for the payment of tuition and fees and housing charges. Before each semester payment due date, you must choose one of the following payment options to avoid late fee charges.

Pay in full - we accept cash, check or credit card (Master Card, Visa and Discover). 

Easy Pay Plan - which spreads each semester's tuition, fees and housing payments, less applicable financial aid awards, over four monthly installments.

Deferral Payment Plan - for students expecting financial aid, but who have not yet finalized aid awards and other tuition payment methods by the tuition due date.

• Make payments on time to avoid late fees. 
• If you cannot make your payments by the due date, contact the NMU Student Service Center (ssc@nmu.edu, 906-227-1221) to see what options may be available to you.

If the financial aid you receive does not fully cover your costs, you may want to look for alternative funding options. These might include:

• Foundation scholarships. Applications are available for a limited time beginning in February.
• Parent PLUS Loans (FAFSA required)
• Private/alternative student loans (FAFSA recommended)

High school guidance offices and local libraries are good sources of scholarship information. You may also wish to check with local organizations, businesses, churches and your parents' employers to see if scholarships are available. It is best to avoid any scholarship service that requires a fee since they cannot guarantee receipt of a scholarship.