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Using Your Aid

Once your FAFSA application has been processed by the SCC Financial Aid Office, you will be notified via your SCC email of any awards you are eligible to receive. This award can be viewed by logging into My SCC and clicking on the Financial Aid Self-Service link. From this area you have the option of reviewing the Financial Aid screens and then viewing/printing a copy of your award letter.

Paying Your SCC Bill
Tuition and fees will automatically be charged to your financial aid unless you have provided the SCC Cashier with documentation that your expenses will be paid by a sponsor/third party.

How Your Aid May Be Adjusted
We will check your enrolled credit hours approximately a week and a half after classes start and adjust your aid at that time, if you are less than full-time. We will also delete aid for hours that you have not attended.  When a student is awarded the federal Pell grant, the initial award amount is based on an assumed full-time enrollment status each semester of 12 credit hours or more. An enrollment status of less than full-time will result in the proration/reduction of a student’s award amount. Students who are three-quarter time (9-11 credit hours), half-time (6-8 credit hours), and less than half-time (1-5 credit hours), will be paid a reduced amount of aid, although some students with lower Pell grants may not receive funds at these lower enrollment levels. 

If a student is awarded the North Carolina Community College Grant (NCCCG), or the North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarship (NCELS), different proration rules apply. The NCCCG initial award amount is based on an assumed full-time PLUS status of 15 credit hours or more each semester.  All students awarded the NCCCG will see an additional $400 per semester in their award letter, but only those over 15 credit hours a semester will receive it.  The NCELS does not have a three-quarter time amount, so students with 12 credit hours or more will be paid the full-time amount, and students between 6 and 11 credit hours will receive a half time amount.  Both state grants require students to be enrolled 6 credit hours or more each semester to receive the half-time amount.

Purchasing Books with Financial Aid Funds
Financial aid recipients who have awards showing on their account in mySCC may charge books and school supplies in the SCC Bookstore at the beginning of each semester, and those costs will be deducted from their financial aid before any financial aid refunds are issued. The Financial Aid Calendar gives the exact date charges may begin. This service is provided as a convenience to students, and students are not required to purchase books this way. Financial aid students wishing to purchase books from another vendor will need to pay for those purchases on their own, and then those costs will not be deducted from their financial aid.

When Aid is Paid
If a student registers for a class starting later in the semester, the Financial Aid Office will not pay aid for that class until it has started, and the student's attendance has been verified. This can delay funds paying for tuition and books, as well as the creation of financial aid refund checks. Students are only eligible for a student loan if they are enrolled in 6 credit hours or more.  If a student has a late-starting class, the loan will not disburse until the student's attendance has been verified for at least 6 credit hours.  In addition, SCC divides each semester's loan amount into multiple payments throughout each semester, and the student must remain in at least 6 credit hours to receive all disbursements.

Refund Checks
If the aid amount posted is greater than current charges due to SCC, a refund will be due to the student. These amounts can be tracked on the Account Summary screens on mySCC.  Refund checks will be mailed once all attendance has been verified, and adjustments have been made for enrollment status. Please make sure SCC has your current address on file. Students cannot request to pick up their checks at the SCC Business Office.

What You Must Know!

  • Contact the SCC Financial Aid Office if you no longer plan to attend SCC, or wish to decline your aid offer. If you do not decline your award, you acknowledge that you plan to attend the upcoming semester, and authorize the payment of tuition and fees from your financial aid.
  • You must inform the SCC Financial Aid Office of any other educational assistance you receive while at SCC.
  • Once financial aid has been awarded to you, your classes will be marked as paid and not dropped. If you do not attend, your aid will be removed, and then you will be billed for your tuition. Therefore, if you do not plan to attend, you must decline your financial aid and drop your classes. Remember that financial aid will only cover classes that are a required part of your program of study, and will not pay for classes that you audit, never attend, or test out of without attending.
  • You must start attending all classes immediately when they begin and you must participate in on-line classes by the end of the first week of the semester.
  • You must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to continue receiving financial aid. As long as you are making Satisfactory Academic Progress, financial aid can pay for you to repeat any class you have withdrawn from (W or WF grade) or failed (F or R grade). However, if you have previously passed a class (even if you were not then receiving financial aid), financial aid can only pay you one time to repeat the class for a better grade, whether or not you actually receive a better grade.
  • If you withdraw from all your classes, you may owe back some of the financial aid you have received. You must attend through the 60% point of the semester to have earned all your aid. If at any point you stop attending all your classes, we will calculate how much aid you earned as if you had withdrawn on your last date of attendance.

 

If the Financial Aid Office should, in good faith, make an error that results in your being over awarded, you will nevertheless be responsible for repaying those funds to SCC. Funds for student financial aid programs are provided by both the U.S. Government and the North Carolina State Legislature. If either reduces appropriations, or if allocations to SCC are not sufficient, your award from these programs may be reduced or revoked.

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