Financial Aid

Monroe Community College participates in the following financial aid programs:

New York State Programs:

• Tuition Assistance Program-TAP (full-time students only); TAPP - part-time (restrictions apply)
• Excelsior Scholarship (Full Time Students) and New York State Part-Time Scholarship (PTS)
• TAP for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) for part-time students
• Aid for Part-Time Study (APTS) (Part-time students only)
• New York State Veterans Award
• State Special Scholarships such as Children of Deceased or Disabled Veterans, Children of Deceased or Disabled Police Officers or Firefighters, World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship, and others. For more information on New York state special scholarships contact: New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (NYSHESC), Office of Grants and Scholarships, Albany, NY 12212-5097, or call 1-518-473-7087, or go to www.hesc.ny.gov
• Scholarships for Academic Excellence: Contact NYSHESC or a high school counseling office.

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Direct Student Loan Program : Federal Stafford, subsidized and unsubsidized, Federal Parent Loan for Students - FDSL
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant - FSEOG
• Federal Work Study - FWS
• Aid to Native American Students

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Renewal Application.

2. Have a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma. Effective July 2012 federal regulations no longer allow new students to be eligible under ability to benefit standards. Students who have previously enrolled as Federal Ability to Benefit students prior to July 2012 will be able to continue to be eligible for Federal Title IV Aid.

3. Be accepted for admission into a program of the College approved for Federal financial aid pursuing a degree or certificate (matriculated*). If you graduate from one program, you must admit to a different program in order to be considered matriculated.

4. Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen.

5. Have a valid social security number.

6. Sign a statement of Educational Purpose and a certification statement on overpayment and default (found on the FAFSA).

7. Register with Selective Service (males age 18-25) if required to do so by law.

8. Complete all verification and federal reject codes requirements. Students may be selected for verification or clarification of application information. No aid eligibility can be processed until the student provides required information. If provided information varies from the application information, the student's record may have to be submitted to the Federal Central Processor for corrections before any aid is processed.

9. Maintain satisfactory academic progress in your degree or certificate program to continue receiving funds. See the Title IV satisfactory academic progress section of this catalog.

10. Not be in default on any prior educational loans.

11. Not have borrowed in excess of Federal aggregate loan limits.

*Students must be matriculated in order to receive funding from any financial aid program. Contact MCC’s Admission’s Office for applications and information, 292-2200.

Financial Need

Financial Aid from most of the major federal programs is based on financial need (except for unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford and PLUS loans). When you apply for federal student aid, using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) the information you provide is used in a formula established and approved by the U.S. Congress called Federal Methodology (FM). The formula calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This is the amount that you and your family will be expected to have available to contribute to your education. If your EFC is below an amount set by the federal government, you should be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements.

Your EFC is also used in an equation to determine how much funding you may need to attend school. Cost of Attendance - EFC = Estimated Financial Need to Attend School

The Financial Aid Office subtracts your EFC from your cost of attendance. You can get further information on the EFC formula by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at 1-800-4FEDAID, or www.studentaid.ed.gov.

Special Conditions

Sometimes a family may have extenuating circumstances that are not reflected on the FAFSA. Examples are a change in income or loss of a job; separation, divorce, or death of a family member, high medical or dental expenses, or other situations.

In such instances a student can request the MCC Financial Aid Office to use professional judgement to re-evaluate their federal aid eligibility. In all cases, students must first file a FAFSA. Once the results are received by MCC, The student can fill out a Special Conditions form and attach required documents.

Cost of Attendance (COA)

This is the amount that the Financial Aid Office estimates it will cost you to attend MCC for one academic year. The COA is calculated based on rules established by the U.S. Congress. The COA includes tuition and fees, allowances for room and board, books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, purchase or lease of a computer, dependent care costs, costs related to disability and miscellaneous expenses. Note that students must supply documentation of computer costs, dependent care costs, and costs related to disability to have these included in the COA. This is required as expenses for these areas do not apply to all students and may vary significantly from student to student. For students who attend less than six semester hours each semester, the COA includes only tuition and fees and an allowance for books, supplies, and transportation. Students with unusual expenses may request an evaluation of their COA by submitting a letter to the Financial Aid Office detailing the circumstances, amount of expenses involved, and providing documentation of the expenses. The COA determines a student's estimated costs related to attendance at college. It is not intended to reflect full support requirements. Financial Aid provides assistance for educational expenses, not full support. Students should be aware that requests for adjustments to the COA do not, in any way, indicate that there is financial aid available to cover such adjustments.