Student Financial Services
Learn More About Financial Aid
The main purpose of federal and state student aid is to help you, the student, go to college even if you and your family do not have the financial means to pay. Of course, the first step is to see how much you and your family can pay. The Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FASFA) form, a federal designed and approved application is necessary for this process. The information you provide in this application helps appropriate officials assess your ability to pay and determine a financial package to help you meet your needs. You may obtain the FASFA at the Financial Services Office, most high schools, or any public library. The FASFA application can be ordered by calling1-800-4FEDAID or it can be found on the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
SOURCES FOR FINANCIAL AID
San Antonio College participates in a variety of federal and state financial aid programs. The following is a listing of the programs:
• Certified Educational Aides Exemption Program
• Early High School Graduate Program
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
• Federal Work-Study
• Federal Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans
• Hazlewood Program for Texas Veterans
• Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP)
• Public Student Incentive Grant
• Texas Public Education Grant for Texas residents, nonresidents, and for Continuing Education courses
• Towards Excellence Access and Success Grants (Texas & Texas II Grants)
Grants are financial aid funds you do not have to pay back.
Work-Study lets you work and earn money to help pay for school.
Loans are borrowed funds that you must pay back with interest.
Scholarships may be awarded from internal (SAC or ACCD funds) or external agencies. A single common scholarship application for all SAC and/or ACCD scholarships can be found in the Office of Student Financial Services or at our Web site at http://www.alamo.edu/district/schships/main/sfs.htm
Return to the Title Four Policy
Students who withdraw from all courses before the completion of sixty percent of the semester may be required to repay all or some of the financial aid funds issued to them. Notification of the amount owed is sent to the student once the complete withdrawal from classes occurs. Payment instructions will be included with this letter. Outstanding balances must be paid within forty-five days from receipt of the notification letter. Failure to pay the balance will place the student in “DEFAULT” of their Title IV account. Defaulted accounts are reported to the Department of Education (DOE) on the forty-sixth day. In addition,
students in default are ineligible to receive any financial aid funds. The student’s eligibility will be reinstated upon written notification from the DOE stating the account has been paid in full. Reinstatement occurs during the semester the letter from the DOE is submitted to the Financial Services Office. All other financial aid requirements remain in effect at the time of re-eligibility. Contradictory information pertaining to payment of the outstanding balance may reverse reinstatement of eligibility.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from a variety of sources both private and public. Below is a partial list of scholarships available through San Antonio College. For a complete listing, any scholarship requirements and an application form, contact the Student Financial Services Office or visit the Scholarships website. http://www.alamo.edu/district/schships/main/sfs.htm
FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to receive financial aid at San Antonio College, you must meet the following requirements:
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and provide the Student Aid Report (SAR) to the Financial Services Office.
• Be enrolled at least 3-semester hours as a regular student in an eligible program, for Pell Grant, or be enrolled at least halftime (6-semester hours) at San Antonio College if applying for other types of aid.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate.
• Not be in default on any student loan or owe a refund to a federal financial aid program.
• Make satisfactory progress in a declared course of study.
• Have an established need as determined by the federal need analysis methodology and institutional guidelines.
CALCULATING FINANCIAL NEED
The information you report when you apply for aid is used in a formula, established by Congress, that calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), an amount you and your family are expected to pay toward your education. For the Federal Pell Grant Program, if your EFC is below a certain number, you are eligible for a Pell Grant, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements.
There is not a maximum EFC that defines eligibility for the campus-based programs and for need-based Federal Stafford Loans. Instead, your EFC is used in an equation to determine your financial need:
Cost of Education
– Expected Family Contribution
= Financial Need
Your financial aid administrator takes the cost of education at your school and subtracts the amount you and your family are expected to pay toward that cost. If there is anything left over, you are considered to have financial need.
You can get a booklet describing the formula that produces the Expected Family Contribution by writing to:
Federal Student Aid Information Center, P.O. Box 84, Washington, D.C. 20044.
VERIFICATION
If your Student Aid Report indicates you are selected for verification, the following documents (if applicable to your file or situation) must be submitted:
1. A signed copy of your prior year 2003 income tax return
2. A signed copy of your parents prior year 2003 income tax return (contact Financial Aid Office)
3. The Verification Worksheet (available at the financial aid office)
4. Documentation that verifies benefits or untaxed income such as:
a. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), formerly AFDC
b. Veteran benefits
c. Other untaxed income and benefits
NOTIFICATION
An award notification will be sent informing you of your eligibility. If an offer is made, the notification will state the program and the amount of the award. The notification will also explain your costs, your expected family contribution, and other pertinent information. Your acceptance of the award is activated when the signed notification is returned to the Student Financial Services Office (SFS).
WITHDRAWAL FROM CLASSES
Students who withdraw from all classes may be required to immediately pay back all or part of all financial aid including federal and state grants and federal student loans.
SATISFACTORY PROGRESS
You must make satisfactory progress in your selected program of study to receive financial aid. Your academic history will be reviewed to ensure that a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average and completion of a specified percentage of attempted hours has been met. This review includes course work attempted at all colleges, universities and/or proprietary schools previously attended. The award notification includes the academic progress policy in detail.
If you do not make satisfactory progress, you will be placed on financial aid probation for the following year. If you do not meet the requirements the next semester, you will be suspended from receiving financial aid until you re-establish eligibility. You have the right to appeal the suspension, however, you should do so only if extenuating circumstances have occurred. The satisfactory progress requirements for financial aid may be different from the academic requirements set by the college.
You may obtain a copy of the “Academic Progress Policy” at the SFS office. The SFS office is located in the Fletcher Administration Center 101.
HAZELWOOD ACT
The Hazelwood Act (Article 2654 B-I) aids ex-veterans who have exhausted all of their VA educational benefits. A legal resident of Texas is exempt from payment of tuition and certain required fees when the applicant meets all of the following conditions:
1. The applicant must have served during a national emergency.
2. The applicant must have resided in Texas one year prior to entering the service, and must have entered the service from Texas. Upon discharge from the service, the applicant must continue to reside in Texas.
3. The applicant must have served on active military duty (other than for training) for more than 180 days.
4. The applicant must apply for federal educational benefits such as the Pell Grant and have eligibility verified.
If the conditions listed above are met, the applicant must submit the following:
1. A letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs that the applicant has no further educational entitlement under the G.I. Bill.
2. A copy of the applicant’s DD214.
3. A student aid report for the academic year.
4. A San Antonio College Hazlewood application form.
Information extracted from the 2002-2003 San Antonio College Catalog.