| Q: |
When should I apply for financial
aid? |
| A: |
You can apply starting January 1 each
year for the school year beginning
the following fall. You can apply
up until June 30 of the current
school year; so if you are starting
school or attending school now,
and haven’t applied, you can
still do so. |
| Q: |
How many hours
do I have to take to be considered full
time for financial aid? |
| A: |
12 credit hours each semester are
required to be paid the full time amount.
These 12 hours must be hours that are
required for your program as listed
in the catalog. If you are less than
full time, your aid will be prorated
as follows:
| 9-11 credit hours |
Three quarter time |
| 6-8 credit hours |
Half time |
| 5 or
less credit hours |
Less
than half time |
Note that student loans, the NC Community
College Grand and the NC Education
Lottery Scholarship require at least
6 credit hours, and other grants
and scholarships have their own
minimum requirements. However, Pell
grants may be paid on a less than
half time schedule. |
| Q: |
When can I
charge books and when will I get my
refund check? |
| A: |
The Financial Aid Office publishes
a schedule of dates that you can
charge books to your financial aid
and dates that refund checks are
paid out. This schedule is mailed
with your award letter and is posted
on our website. You will get a refund
check if your tuition and books
charges are less than your financial
aid amount for the semester. We
will verify that you are attending
all classes, including on-line classes,
before your funds are released.
Checks will be mailed by the SCC
Business Office approximately six
weeks after classes start each semester.
|
| Q: |
Will I get
financial aid for the summer term? |
| A: |
If you are full time during the fall
and spring semesters, your full
annual grants will be paid out,
half in the fall and half in the
spring. Therefore, you will not
have any remaining grants for summer.
If you only receive financial aid
during one of the fall or spring
semesters, or if you are not paid
at the full time rate for fall or
spring, you will probably have some
funds available for summer. Check
with the Financial Aid Office after
you register for summer classes.
|
| Q: |
Can I participate
in the work-study program? |
| A: |
Work-study is a federal financial
aid program where you are paid for
working on campus part-time. You
must have financial need as defined
by the federal guidelines, so not
all students qualify. Most of the
jobs are clerical in nature, and
a limited number of positions are
available. Students are paid monthly,
and currently earn $7.00 an hour.
If you wish to apply, please contact
the Financial Aid Office. |
| Q: |
How do I apply
for scholarships? |
| A: |
Scholarships are available from many
sources in the community and beyond.
You are encouraged to apply for
any scholarships for which you are
eligible. In addition, there are
several scholarships each year that
are awarded by the SCC Foundation.
Check the list on the financial
aid website or in the scholarship
notebook in the SCC Financial Aid
Office, and request an application
for any scholarship that applies
to you. Most of the deadlines are
in the spring and early summer so
that scholarships can be awarded
starting with the fall semester. |
| Q: |
Can I get a
student loan? |
| A: |
We encourage you to do everything
you can to avoid taking out a student
loan while at SCC. Our costs are
low enough, that most grant awards
will cover tuition and books. If
you do need to pursue a student
loan, you will need to request instructions
and application materials from the
SCC Financial Aid Office or consult
the financial aid website. There
are several steps involved, so please
be sure to follow the instructions
completely. |
| Q: |
What happens
to my financial aid if I withdraw from
one or more classes? |
| A: |
Partial Withdrawal—If
you know right away that you need
to drop a class, try to do so
during Drop/Add so that you can
add another class, or get part
of the tuition refunded. We will
adjust your financial aid if necessary
to your enrollment status at the
financial aid census date which
occurs after the end of Drop/Add.
If you decide to withdraw from
a class after the Drop/Add period
is over, be sure to do so before
the last date to withdraw to avoid
being given an F grade. You will
not have to repay financial aid
dollars unless you withdraw from
all your classes. Even partial
withdrawals can hurt your future
eligibility, however, because
of the Satisfactory Academic Progress
requirement to complete 70% of
all attempted hours.
Full Withdrawal—If
you receive the Pell Grant, Academic
Competitiveness Grant, Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grant (FSEOG), Stafford Loan or
PLUS Loan, you must earn your
financial aid by attending class
beyond the 60% point of each semester.
If you withdraw from all of your
classes OR stop attending all
your classes before the 60% point
of the semester (which is right
before the last date to withdraw),
you may owe back a portion of
the financial aid you received.
The SCC Financial Aid Office will
send you a letter detailing any
amounts due to SCC and/or to the
United States Department of Education.
You will be given 45 days from
the date of that letter to repay
both amounts to SCC. If you owe
funds, there will usually be an
amount you owe SCC. This must
be repaid before you can enroll
in classes again, or before you
can request a transcript. There
may also be an amount you owe
the Department of Education. You
must repay this amount or make
satisfactory payment arrangements
with the Department of Education
to remain eligible for federal
financial aid beyond the 45 day
period. If you do not pay within
the 45 days, SCC will begin to
collect the amount you owe us,
and the Department of Education
will begin to collect the amount
you owe them.
To owe no funds you must attend
a class meeting on or beyond this
date (the actual date for you
will depend on the day of the
week your class meets):
| 60%
Point by Term for 2008-2009 |
| Term |
Attend
Class On or Beyond |
Last
Date to Withdraw |
| Fall 2008 - full session |
October 29, 2008 |
November 4, 2008 |
| Spring 2009 - full session |
March 24, 2009 |
March 31, 2009 |
| Summer 2009 – full
session |
July 2, 2009 |
July 14, 2009 |
|
| Q: |
What is Satisfactory
Academic Progress (SAP) and what happens
if I fall below the requirements? |
| A: |
SAP is the Department of Education’s
way of making sure you are on track
to completing your program of study
in a timely manner since you are asking
them to help fund you. To continue receiving
aid at SCC you must make a 2.0 cumulative
Grade Point Average, and successfully
complete 70% of the cumulative
credit hours you have attempted. If
you withdraw from a class or get an
F grade, then you have attempted that
class, but not completed it. If you
fall below either of these standards,
you will be given one semester of financial
aid on probation to try to improve your
results and meet these standards. SAP
rules can get rather complicated, so
please refer to the Financial Aid Office
SAP handout or the inside cover of your
award folder for complete information.
|
| |
This
information was last updated June
12, 2008 |
