A student must present an UNEXPIRED GOVERNMENT-ISSUED FORM OF IDENTIFICATION (State-issued ID, driver’s license, non-driver’s identification card, US Passport, etc.) to confirm a student’s identity before any income and tax information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid can be disclosed. Please contact the financial aid office for more information.
The FAFSA is now available each year on October 1st and allows almost all tax return filers to electronically transfer their tax return information directly into their FAFSA. Students/parents are encouraged to transfer their tax data through the FA-DDX (Future Act Direct Data Exchange dataset). Students and their families can submit the application early, but may not receive confirmation of eligibility from the financial aid office until a later date.
To receive aid from any of the federal and state student aid programs, students must meet ALL of the following criteria:
· Demonstrate financial need. A student’s financial need is determined through the submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Go to StudentAid to begin the process. Please note: A FAFSA or FAFSA Renewal is required to be completed EVERY academic year the student seeks financial aid.
· Have a high school diploma or GED
· Be accepted for enrollment in an eligible financial aid program of study at TCCC
· Be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen
· Have a valid Social Security Number
· Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards set by TCCC
· Certify that he/she will use financial aid for educational purposes only
· Certify he/she isn't in default on any federal student loans & doesn't owe money on a federal student grant
· Meet federal eligibility requirements regarding drug-related convictions
· To get started, students and parents (dependent students) are encouraged to file a tax return, if required, for the specified tax year prior to submitting the FAFSA. Many tax returns may be filed free of charge when using the free file online with the IRS.
· Students must complete a FAFSA and submit it either by mail or by electronically filing at StudentAid . Students/parents are encouraged to utilize the FA-DDX option when completing the FAFSA application online. However, if FA-DDX is unavailable, students and/or parents can use their tax return and W2′s to complete the FAFSA application. To determine if you are a dependent student, who must provide parent information, visit here. Students will need to use TCCC’s School Code 009430 when applying.
· Students who apply for financial aid will need to create a FSA ID (username and password) before completing the FAFSA application online. Students can apply for a FSA ID at StudentAid Create an Account. If the student is dependent, the parent must also create a FSA ID. Student/parents should retain their FSA ID to ease the process for applying for aid in the subsequent years.
· Other financial aid at TCCC is awarded with priority given to early applicants, so do not delay.
· Once students complete their FAFSA application, they will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary by mail or email (usually within a few days). In addition, the financial aid office will notify the students via the TCCC Self-service portal regarding any documentation needed to verify eligibility for financial aid. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the requested documentation to the financial office as soon as possible.
· Once a student has been determined to be eligible, the student will be notified of eligible funding by the TCCC student email. The student is required to log on to the TCCC website and read the Financial Aid Recipient Responsibilities on the Financial Aid page to understand the rules and guidelines they must follow to receive the funding.
· In addition to applying for financial aid, students must ensure that they complete the NC Residency Determination Service and the Admissions application by clicking on “Apply Now” at the bottom of the page. Students must provide Admissions with all required documentation, including official high school, high school equivalency, and other college transcripts. Students may be required to take TCCC’s college placement test before they will be accepted at the college. Note: Students must be accepted before any financial aid can be awarded.
· Each student should re-apply for financial aid annually as early as October 1st for the following year’s fall semester.
TCCC students are to contact our Financial Aid Office by calling 828-837-6810 if you need assistance filing your FAFSA online.
Guide to a Debt Free College Degree
Financial Aid for Online Colleges
When applying for federal student aid, the information reported on the FAFSA is used to calculate each student’s Student Aid Index (SAI). The formula used to calculate the SAI is established by law to measure the financial strength of a student’s family on the basis of the family’s income and assets. The SAI is used to determine a student’s eligibility for student aid. Below is the need analysis equation.
Cost of Attendance
- Student Aid Index
_______________________
= Financial Need
TCCC’s Financial Aid Office will calculate cost of attendance and subtract the reported SAI. If any amount remains, then a student has “financial need.” The Financial Aid Office will work with students toward meeting the need, however because funds are limited, the amount awarded to an individual student may not meet the total need.
Students should contact the Financial Aid Office if they feel they have special circumstances that might affect their dependency status or the amount they and their family are expected to contribute toward their education. These circumstances could include a family’s unusual medical expenses, or recent unemployment due to an involuntary layoff, plant closure, etc.
There must be very good reasons to make any adjustments and students will be required to provide documentation to adequately prove their request. The Financial Aid staff’s decision is final, and it cannot be appealed to the US Department of Education.
Students only receive financial aid for those courses that are listed in the TCCC catalog as required for their program of study. Financial aid may be paid for developmental courses, if required, based on the student’s high school graduation date & transcript or placement test scores. The amount of financial aid a student receives will depend upon on his/her enrollment hours and program of study. For programs based on semester credit hours, enrollment in twelve (12)or more credit hours (per semester) is full-time. If enrollment hours are less than full-time, federal and state grants will be pro-rated on a percentage basis.
Please Note: In accord with Federal guidelines, some TCCC Programs of Study are calculated as “Clock Hour” programs for financial aid disbursement purposes. Students who are enrolled in a diploma, certificate, or clock hour program that require a conversion of enrollment hours will receive financial aid based on the number of enrollment hours after the calculated conversion.
All students receiving Federal and State educational assistance must adhere to the guidelines and requirements stated in the policy when receiving any type of financial aid. To review policy, click here.
