Next Steps for Enrolled Students: Fall 2022

The BFA Enrollment Agreement contains the 2022–2023 tuition information, fee schedule, and refund policies. All new students must sign the form and return to MECA&D via AdobeSign by Monday, August 1, 2022. The form will be available beginning in March 2022.

If you are under 18 years of age at the time of signing, this form will be slightly different — please email Ally Anderson at alexandra.anderson@meca.edu for additional instructions.

Questions? Contact Admissions at 207.699.5026 or admissions@meca.edu

According to Maine State Law, every post-secondary student born after 1956 must be immunized against the diseases of diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, and tetanus. You must submit proof of immunization before you can attend classes. You may have your doctor fill out the form and you can upload to your applicant status page, or your doctor's office may simply fax the records to the Admissions Office at 207.699.5080. Please make sure it is filled out completely or it will not be accepted. Immunization records are due by Monday, August 1, 2022.

All MFA, MAT, Salt, and BFA students must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, in order to be enrolled at the Maine College of Art & Design. Individuals who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine created by Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine AND a booster shot are considered to be fully vaccinated after 14 days have passed since the booster dose. Proof of vaccination must be sent to admissions@meca.edu by Monday, August 1, 2022.

Medical exemptions can be considered with proper documentation; please reach out to studentlife@meca.edu as soon as possible for approval.

Download the immunization form here
Questions? Contact Admissions at 207.699.5026 or admissions@meca.edu

Housing is required for all first-year students. Please submit the Emergency Contact and Housing Form that can be found on your application status page. Once you submit the form, you’ll be directed to pay the the $200 housing fee and deposit. (The $200 housing deposit includes a $100 one-time non-refundable housing placement fee and a $100 refundable housing security deposit.)

Please note that both payment and the application are necessary to hold your place in on-campus housing. Housing applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you think you may qualify for a housing exemption and would like to request to live off-campus, please review the criteria here. You will be able to fill out exemption reasons on the Emergency Contact and Housing Form.

Questions? Contact Jen Doebler, Chelsea Crossett, or Gracie Nilsson at 207.699.5035 or housing@meca.edu

Registration for classes is a two step process, as outlined below:

1. The registrar will send an email to your email address on file, beginning in June 2022. The email will include instructions to set up your MECA&D email. Once you set this up and go into your MECA&D email you will find an email with instructions to set up your MyMECA&D account where you can obtain your class schedule, see your grades, get information about billing, and access your financial aid information.
2. The Registrar will be creating a schedule for you in late Spring which you will be able to view in your MyMECA&D account. First-year students starting in the fall semester are generally assigned most of their classes with the exception of a studio elective. For students transferring into MECA&D, the Registrar's Office will contact you by phone to create a schedule around the classes you transferred in from previous colleges.

View a visual tutorial for setting up your MyMECA&D account here
Log in to your MyMECA&D account here

Questions? Contact Anne Dennison, Registrar, at 207.699.5054 or adennison@meca.edu, or Julie Smith, Assistant Registrar, at 207.699.5057 or jsmith@meca.edu

You will receive an outline of your federal aid awards from the Financial Aid Office. Please carefully review your financial aid — you may accept all, part, or none of the federally-awarded grant and loan money. When you have decided, please sign the Financial Aid Agreement using the AdobeSign link, preferably by Monday, August 1, 2022.

Please note: if you have been selected for verification, don't worry! It's completely normal and part of a random selection process done by the Department of Education. If you need help navigating this, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Questions? Contact Carri Frechette or Will O'Shea at 207.699.5074 or finaid@meca.edu

If you are accepting a Direct Loan as part of your financial aid package, you will need to sign a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note and complete Direct Loan Entrance Counseling, both are done online. All students receiving Direct Loans need to complete both steps by Monday, August 1, 2022 or earlier.

You will need your driver’s license, FSA ID, and two references with their names and addresses.

In order to receive your Federal Direct Loan(s) funds please follow these steps:

Step 1: Sign a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN)

1. Go to www.studentaid.gov
2. Sign in at the box in the upper right hand corner with your FSA ID
3. Click on "Complete Master Promissory Note" in the middle of the page
4. Select Subsidized/Unsubsidized

Step 2: Complete Loan Entrance Counseling
Entrance counseling will help you understand your loan, types of loans and terms, options for finding free money, and borrowing limits. This step will take 20–30 minutes and must be completed in a single session. Other types of counseling are also available, including advice on managing finances, though these are not required.

1. Go to www.studentaid.gov
2. Sign in at the box in the upper right hand corner with your FSA ID
3. Click on "Complete Counseling"
4. Select "Entrance Counseling"

Questions? Contact Carri Frechette or Will O'Shea at 207.699.5074 or finaid@meca.edu

In order to help plan out your budget for the upcoming academic year, please fill out and return the BFA Budget Sheet provided here. This sheet, for new students, will let us know whether you would like to use a payment plan, loans, or other means of payment for your bill.

Please fill out and return the budget worksheet for new students by Friday, July 8, 2022.

You can download a blank budget sheet here.
Questions? Contact Tammy Jackson, Student Accounts Coordinator, at 207.699.5049 or billing@meca.edu

Beginning in June or once you are registered for classes, the Student Accounts Office will mail a bill to the home address we have on file for tuition, fees, and any related room and board costs less any financial aid, scholarships, grants, or other aid you may qualify for or have obtained. Payment is due in full by Friday, July 8, 2022. Students enrolling after that date will receive an updated payment due date and may be subject to an earnest deposit on tuition.

Please note that because you may not be assigned a housing option until after the bill is issued, the line item for housing costs may be an estimate — this cost will either be completely accurate or will only change slightly when the housing placements are finalized.

If you'd like to discuss payment plans, read on below and/or contact the Student Accounts Office to see which options may work best for you.

Questions? Contact Tammy Jackson, Student Accounts Coordinator, at 207.699.5049 or billing@meca.edu

If you would like to pay your tuition using a payment plan, you can sign up for a monthly tuition payment plan with Nelnet Campus Commerce. For more information on payment plans available through Nelnet Campus Commerce, visit Nelnet.

Costs to Participate:
• $60 non-refundable enrollment fee per Semester
• $30 non-refundable returned payment fee, if a payment is returned

Questions? Contact Tammy Jackson, Student Accounts Coordinator, at 207.699.5049 or billing@meca.edu

All enrolled students are required to have health insurance. If you do not already have health insurance, you will be billed for MECA&D's insurance; the cost of the insurance for the 2021–2022 year was $2,725. (We will know the 2022–2023 year soon and will update.) The current insurance information can be viewed at crossagency.com/meca.

If you are already covered by outside health insurance, you can opt out of the health insurance charge — it will be waived on your student account. Information about opting out will come with the billing statement; visit crossagency.com/meca to opt out.

Questions? Contact Tammy Jackson, Student Accounts Coordinator, at 207.699.5049 or billing@meca.edu

In order to disperse your federal financial aid, MECA&D needs proof of your high school graduation; both first-time freshmen and transfer students will need to submit these. Please have your guidance counselor send an official copy to the Admissions Office — these can be either a physical copy with a seal or delivered through an official transcript service like Common App, Parchment, or National Student ClearingHouse.

Any of the following will fulfill this requirement:
+ Final high school transcript with printed graduation date
+ Official copy of GED, HISET, or other high school equivalency test

Final transcripts are due by Monday, August 1, 2022.

Questions? Contact Admissions at 207.699.5026 or admissions@meca.edu

Applicants who are completing or have completed college coursework will need to submit a transcript containing final grades to the Admissions Office in order for the coursework to be considered for placement. This applies to both transfer students as well as high school students who may be taking college classes. Transcripts can be either an official physical copy with a seal or delivered through an official transcript service like Common App, Parchment, or National Student Clearing House.

Applicants seeking Advanced Placement credits must submit official test scores to the Admissions Office, preferably no later than Monday, August 1, 2022. Maine College of Art & Design awards credit for test scores of 4 or above.

Questions? Contact Admissions at 207.699.5026 or admissions@meca.edu

Once you have submitted your enrollment fee and submitted your DOF, MECA&D will issue you an I-20 form, which you will use to apply for your student visa at a US consulate or embassy.

You will need to submit the following documents to the Office of Admissions in order to receive your I-20:

• Declaration of Finances (DOF) form
• For your DOF to be processed we will need a scanned copy of your passport in color. You can send this with your completed DOF mail or send a digital copy.
• The United States Citizen and Immigration Service requires that international applicants submit to MECA&D a declaration of finances (DOF) indicating that the applicant has financial resources adequate to provide for his or her expenses without resorting to unauthorized employment. The amount declared must reflect the total sum of tuition, fees and living expenses for one academic year of study and must be dated within one year of initial enrollment at MECA&D.
• Verification of Finances (VOF)

All funds declared on the DOF must be substantiated by a verification of finances (VOF) from the student’s bank or sponsor’s bank. All documents must be in English and in U.S. dollars, or the bank must supply the current exchange rate. Official and original documentation must be provided. All supporting documentation must be dated within one year of initial enrollment at Maine College of Art & Design.

Please note that it can take up to six weeks for an I-20 form to be processed and delivered. We encourage you to submit this documentation as soon as possible.

Questions? Contact Emily Brighi, International Student Counselor, at 207.699.5028 or ebrighi@meca.edu

The Financial Aid Office compiles an extensive list of outside and independent scholarships for which MECA&D students are often competitive. We highly recommend you take some time to apply for these scholarships that can reduce the cost of attendance.

In addition, students often say they have the most success with sources that offer local scholarships. These include, for example, family members' (immediate and extended) employers, civic organizations such as local chapters of Rotary clubs, and religious organizations such as Knights of Columbus. Be sure to check at your local high school, town hall, library, and Chamber of Commerce for more possible scholarship opportunities.

You can access the most recent scholarship list here (last updated 12/2021)
Questions? Contact Carri Frechette or Will O'Shea at 207.699.5074 or finaid@meca.edu

Beginning in June 2022, Student Life will be hosting a series of Wednesday evening webinars to help prepare you to begin at Maine College of Art & Design. Exact times and registration links are forthcoming!

June 29: Intro to Student Life & The On Campus Housing Process

• Learn about the Student Life Department & Staff
• Housing Placements & Roommates
• Housing Contracts & Billing for Housing
• And more!