Next Steps
Your FAFSA or TASFA submission will be added to your student account about 2-3 weeks after submission. Once your have submitted your application, it is important for you to regularly check on and complete any financial aid requirements added to your account.
You should also become familiar with checking any changes the Financial Aid office has processed on your account, such as new award offers, satisfying your requirements and requests, and disbursing your aid.
Checking Your Status
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In order to monitor your Financial Aid status and requirements, you will need to log into your ACES student portal. ACES will help you check and obtain the following information related to financial aid:
- Financial Aid Requirements
- Document Status
- Financial Aid Awards
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Status
- Account Summary
- Student ID – you are required to have this at the time you visit or call the Student Financial Aid offices
If you are unfamiliar with navigating ACES to locate your financial aid information, please refer to our tutorial guides.
Your ACES e-mail, which can also be accessed through ACES, will be the official mode of communication between you and the Alamo Colleges District. It is important for you to check your ACES e-mail on a regular basis; failure to do so could result in missed deadlines, unsatisfied requirements, or other important updates.
The status for your documents will remain unsatisfied (or a red flag) until each document is reviewed by the financial aid office and completed. Once you see all statuses updated to a check mark, this means your documents are processed and an eligibility determination can be made on whether you qualify for aid.
Students have the option to upload requested documents securely in ACES using an Adobe Sign upload form. A tutorial on how to do so is available HERE.
Your FAFSA or TASFA application will provide Alamo Colleges District with information that determines the type of aid you will receive and your total cost of attendance.
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Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
The EFC is a measure of your family’s financial data and is calculated according to a formula established by law. Taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits are all considered in the formula. Family size and number of family members who attend college are all considered. This calculated amount will determine how much need based aid like grants and scholarships you qualify for.
Your EFC will be shown to you after you submit your FAFSA form on your Student Aid Report (SAR). A SAR is an electronic or paper document that summarizes the information you reported on your FAFSA that is sent to you by email.
Cost of Attendance (COA)
The Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimate of average costs a student will incur during the academic year. Included in the COA are tuition and fee costs, a room and board allowance, books and supplies, transportation, and personal/miscellaneous expenses. The actual cost will vary depending on whether a student chooses to live at home with their parents, or independently. Transportation costs will also vary depending on proximity to the campus and mode of transportation.
View the 2022-2023 & 2023-2024 Cost of Attendance
Dependency Status
All applicants for financial aid are considered either "dependent" or "independent" once the dependency questions are answered at the start of the FAFSA. It will then be required to include either parent information for Dependent students or to include information on themselves and a spouse if applicable for Independent students.
This dependency status will determine the estimated Cost of Attendance that matches your situation.
