As most of our students are eligible for financial aid, the number of low-income students at SCC is high. Lacking financial resources and support means that small emergencies become major obstacles and that work becomes a priority over education. Today's challenge activity includes an overview of financial resources for students, including grants, scholarships, and more.
The Foundation has over 100 scholarshipsthat open for applications each January as well as others that open for applications in the summer. All CCS students, including international students, are eligible to apply. Students can apply to several opportunities at once by submitting their General Application. Visit the How to Apply page on their website for more information or contact the Foundation at 509-434-5123 or Foundation@ccs.spokane.edu.
There are many programs that offer support for particular groups of students. First, encourage you students to visit SCC's site for special funding. Depending on a variety of factors, students may be eligible for additional resources, so the best startegy is to put them in touch with our amazing WorkForce Transitions team in building 6 (533-7249). Emergency grants, like the SEAG and SSEH, are sometimes available (they are closed for the winter quarter), but if students receive BFET (Basic Food Employment and Training) or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), if they are foster youth under 27, if they are low-income, or if they are unemployed and retraining for a new field, they may qualify. Let the WorkForce team connect eligible students with a "hand up," not a "hand out." If they can't offer SCC assistance, they can connect students to community resources as well. (Look for more information about these resources in Week 2 of the challenge!)
The majority of SCC students are eligible for financial aid, but most faculty and staff outside the Financial Aid Office are not familiar with the processes and details.
The first step towards receiving financial aid is to submit the online application. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)provides financial aid for U.S. Citizens, and eligible non-citizens, such as permanent residents; review the basic eligibility requirements.Visit the FAFSA website, to create an FSA ID and to complete the application. A new FAFSA application must be completed each school year. The college code for SCC is 003793.
The Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) is for students who don't file a federal FAFSA application because they are undocumented or not eligible for federal aid due to their immigration status. Additionally, students who are ineligible for federal student aid due to defaulted student loans or federal grant overpayments may be able to complete a WASFA. WASFA applicants will only be eligible for state financial aid. Please share more detailed information on WASFA and eligibility.
The FAFSA will determine what types of aid each student is eligible to receive. The types of awards available are:
Review the SCC Financial Aid site for more information on these awards.
If a student has been awarded financial aid prior to the start of the quarter, most aid will be disbursed to the student on the first day of each quarter. Funds will first be applied toward tuition charges, and then leftover funds are sent directly to the student via BankMobile. Students will not receive their financial aid refund prior to the first day of classes. You can learn more about disbursement dates and receiving funds, and you can share this info with students.
Source & Credits needed:
Only classes that are required to complete your program of study will be used to calculate your financial aid awards. Financial aid will not pay for classes not included in the program outline.
Financial aid can pay for a repeated class one time. Once financial aid has paid for a class twice, we will not be able to fund it again.
Phone: 509-533-7017
Fax: 509-533-7425
Email: fscc@scc.spokane.edu
Our Fall-Spring office hours are Monday-Friday 7:30-4:00 p.m.
Our Summer office hours are Monday-Thursday 7:30-5:00 and Friday 8:00-12:00 p.m.
Students do not need an appointment to come in and see us. We are located in Building 15 and have staff available at the center island BFC (Bigfoot Central) to help answer any questions.