Understanding Financial Aid

FEDERAL

 STATE

INSTITUTIONAL

Institutions must abide by the eligibility requirements set by state and federal laws. Eligibility for financial aid programs vary. It is important to understand so as not to decline or overlook the aid that is available. 

Financial Eligibility. Eligibility can be limited by these financial considerations:

• If the student earns too much money.
• If the student's family earns too much money, as determined by the Expected Family Contribution.

Entitlement Eligibility. Only recent high school graduates and students transferring to a four-year institution are eligible for a Cal Grant Entitlement Award. Other qualified applicants must compete for one of the 41,000 available competitive Cal Grants. Because far more students qualify for a competitive grant, many are left without aid they may need. 

Grade Point Average (GPA). There is no initial GPA requirement for Federal Pell Grant eligibility. However, Cal Grants do have GPA requirements. These requirements present a barrier for some students. 

Tuition. Since Cal Grant award levels are generally linked to tuition, they fail to address other expenses beyond tuition that are often significant barriers to access and success for community college students.

Age. Cal Grant awards are restricted to students based on their age or time out of high school. Unfortunately, this works against the older, working or economically displaced students who are most likely to be attending a community college in California.

Other Eligibility Limits. Other factors affecting eligibility, especially for federal aid, include:

• Citizenship
• Criminal conviction
• Lack of registration for Selective Service
• Delinquency on other loans, including defaults on previous federal loans
• Exhausted lifetime eligibility
• Not being enrolled in enough units

Terms of Eligibility

Students are available for up to the equivalent of four full-time years for Cal Grants and up to the equivalent of six full-time years for Federal Pell Grants. Awards in both programs are prorated for students attending less than full time. Community college students are less likely than others to consistently attend full-time and may become concerned about timing out of their aid due to increased time to completion.

Postponing Aid

Some students may benefit from postponing aid if it is clear they will exceed maximum time frames and want to 'save it' for continuing on at a four-year university. However, postponing aid may limit their ability to succeed. Several factors should be considered, including whether the student's success will be jeopardized as well as their estimated time to completion and potential transfer challenges.

Emergency Aid

Even the smallest emergencies can set students back and the risk to low-income and historically underserved students is especially high. To help, some colleges offer emergency aid funds beyond formal financial aid programs. This helps students avoid the much greater costs associated with not completing courses or dropping out altogether. Different types of emergency aid are usually used for different purposes. 

Food Pantries. Addressing on-campus food insecurity, food pantries provide nutritional support to students in need. Campuses may also provide donation based closets where students can pick up professional attire and other clothing that they may need.

Email: mcraidercentral@vcccd.edu
Phone: (805) 553-4120

Verification

The U.S. Department of Education selects some students to verify their information by providing tax returns and other documents. Aid cannot be disbursed until those documents are received. Students can retrieve previous tax returns from the Tax Information for Students website.

• If your application is pending, talk to a financial aid officer to understand the campus verification policy and the exact documents that are required

Timing

Most financial aid is disbursed at the beginning of the term, yet some colleges distribute payment over time. While early disbursement can benefit students by releasing aid as soon as possible, it can also leave colleges liable for funds issued to students who do not remain enrolled. 

• If you are concerned about your disbursement, talk to a financial aid officer about the disbursement timeline. These can also be viewed on your myVCCCD portal

Disbursement Methods

Financial aid may be disbursed via direct deposit, by check or through a third-party debit card. 

Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the process a college uses to determine if a student is meeting all of their educational requirements and is on target to graduate on time with a degree or certificate. Schools may also establish maximum time frames for completion. While colleges have individual standards for meeting SAP, they have similar considerations. SAP must be maintained for students to continue receiving aid. 

• Seek assistance if you are not making satisfactory academic progress from your counselor, tutor, and faculty
• Determine a unit load based on what you can complete and avoid unnecessary units that are not on your student education plan
• If you lose your award for SAP, request help on how to appeal

Monitor Lifetime Eligibility

Lifetime eligibility for Federal Pell grants is the equivalent of six full-time years, regardless of whether the student is at a community college or a university. Lifetime eligibility for Cal Grants is the equivalent of four full-time years, regardless of whether the student is at a community college or a university. A student could potentially use all available years for either Pell or Cal grants at a community college, a university, or a combination of both.