Fill out the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

The Student’s and Parent’s (if dependent) tax returns and W2’s are needed to complete the FAFSA. It is preferred that the student and parent use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import the previous year’s taxes into the FAFSA.

The FSA ID is a user name and password that has replaced the Federal Student Aid Pin and must be used to log in to the FAFSA website and other certain U.S. Department of Education websites. Your FSA ID confirms you identity. You may create your FSA ID at www.studentaid.gov/fsaid.

You must reapply for financial aid every year. A new FAFSA should be completed between January 1st and March 15th every year after a student and/or parents have completed their taxes.

Go to the FAFSA website and update the completed FAFSA with BCC’s Federal School Code: 007987 so that the Financial Aid Office at BCC will receive your information electronically.

The student’s file must be complete and awarded before aid can be applied to a student’s account. Available aid is applied toward the beginning of each semester.

Verification is the process by which the accuracy of the information on your FAFSA is confirmed by the Financial Aid Office. If your application is selected for verification by the Department of Education, the Financial Office will contact you for additional information. You will not be awarded any financial aid until all requested documents are completed and returned to the Financial Aid Office.

Use the income of the parent for your current residence or the parent who most recently provided over 50% of your support.

Yes. It does not matter if you live with them or not. If you do not meet the federal definition of an independent student, you are required to supply parent information on the FAFSA.

The Federal Government deems that if you answer yes to one of the following criteria, you are considered independent and do not have to include your parent’s income on your FAFSA.

• You are 24 years of age
• You are married
• You have children who receive half of their support from you
• You are or have been a ward of the court
• You are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces
• You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
• You are currently enrolled in a master’s or doctorate program (such as: MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, graduate certificate, etc)

Yes.

Bring your federal tax return and W-2s to the Financial Aid Office. We can help you fill out your FAFSA form based on your information only.

Yes. A student should include his/her spouse’s information on the FAFSA. If separate federal income tax returns were filed, combine the adjusted gross incomes from the tax returns and include them on the appropriate line of the FAFSA. Do the same for the amount of taxes paid and other amounts.

You are eligible for a Pell Grant until you have earned a Bachelor’s degree or received your Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) amount of Pell Grant (12 full-time semesters). For more information contact the financial aid office.

Students in default on a federal student loan are not eligible for any federal or state financial aid. Students must make six consecutive payments on a defaulted loan and make satisfactory payment arrangements with the Department of Education to regain eligibility for aid. Students must present the Financial Aid office with official notification from the Department of Education that they are no longer in default and may receive Title IV aid.

Federal regulations require that a student submit an official high school, GED, or adult high school transcript to the Admissions Office prior to receiving financial aid.

Financial aid recipients must meet both a “qualitative” and a “quantitative” standard to maintain eligibility for financial aid. Students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 grade point average (GPA) to meet the qualitative standard. Students must also successfully complete 67 percent of all credits in which they enroll to meet the quantitative standard.

You only get paid for classes that you have attended. For example, the credit hours of a second session course that you have not started will not be included in a refund until you have attended the class. Once your enrollment status is confirmed from half-time to quarter-time, quarter-time to full time, etc., you will be paid for those hours.

If you completely withdraw from all classes prior to the 60% point of the semester, you may be required to repay part of the financial aid that has been awarded to you. The possibility of repayment occurs only if you withdraw from all classes; however, any withdrawals can affect your financial aid eligibility in future semesters.

No. Federal regulation prohibit students from receiving financial aid from two schools during one semester. You must receive financial aid from the institution in which you will receive your degree. If a student plans to enroll at another college while attending BCC, the student must pay the tuition, fees, books and supplies at the visiting college. Then the student must bring the registration form and receipt from the visiting college to the Financial Aid Office. A consortium agreement must be signed by the Financial Aid Director at the visiting college to verify enrollment and increase the student’s financial aid eligibility based on the total number of credit hours enrolled.

Yes. Pell Grant proration is based on the following standards: