Cost & Aid FAQ

You can apply for financial aid by completing the FAFSA beginning October 1st. You can complete your application electronically at FAFSA® Application - Federal Student Aid. The information you provide on the FAFSA is also used to determine your eligibility for some state and institutional scholarships. WSCC's fall priority deadline is June 30. Students who apply after this date or who turn in required documentation after this date, may have to pay for tuition and fees until a determination of aid can be determined.

Yes. We encourage everyone to apply! Often students who don't think they will be eligible are eligible. The FAFSA form is free. There is no good excuse for not applying.

Complete a Free online Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after October 1st. This begins the financial aid process.

No. You can apply for financial aid anytime beginning October 1st; however, we may not receive the electronic copy of your FAFSA until admissions is complete.

Yes. You have to fill out the FAFSA every year you are in school. Note that your eligibility for financial aid may change significantly from year to year based on household size, income and other factors in the Student Aid Index (SAI) formula. Renewal of your financial aid package also depends on your making satisfactory academic progress towards a degree, such as earning a minimum number of credits and achieving a minimum GPA.

If you use the FAFSA to apply for Federal student aid funds and provide false information, you are subject to fines and/or imprisonment under the U.S. Criminal Code. State and local laws may also apply in such cases.

For new applicants to Walters State, you must be accepted for admission before your FAFSA will be loaded into our college system. Depending on the time of year you file and/or turn in requested documentation, it may take 2-6 weeks for processing. Processing for the upcoming award year begins in early April of each year. The first batch of award notifications is generally emailed in late April. Students may also check MyWS for the current status of their application. Generally speaking, the closer it gets to the term start date, the longer it takes to process the FAFSA. This is due to the volume of applications that are received after the 6/30 priority deadline. Hence, apply early!

Online: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa  

The FAFSA asks for information about you (and your spouse, if married), your parents if you are a dependent student and your financial situation. Each person is considered a contributor.

Some of the information you need to complete the FAFSA includes:

• social security numbers
• alien registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
• federal tax returns (1040, 1040A, 1040-EZ)*
• W-2 forms*
• 1099 forms*
• records of your untaxed income(including child support received and interest income)
• Other income information (such as your cash, savings and checking account balances, investments, stocks, bonds, real estate, business and farm assets

*Note: The FAFSA will pull IRS data into your FAFSA for each contributor that gives consent. If you or one of your contributors does not give consent, your FAFSA cannot be completed.

Be sure to keep copies of all of your financial information in case you are selected for verification. The financial aid office may accept a signed copy of your federal tax return or you may be required to provide a copy of your official IRS Tax Return Transcript.

If you haven't received your FAFSA Submission Summary in ten business days, you should log back into your FAFSA and find your application status in "My Activity". Please see "How do I check the status of my FAFSA® form? - Federal Student Aid" for all statuses and what they mean.

The FAFSA is only the first step in the financial aid process. After your FAFSA has been processed you will be able to view your online FAFSA Submission Summary. It is important to review your summary very carefully to make sure all of the information reported on the FAFSA is correct. If you find any errors, you may log back into the FAFSA and update your application. The next step is to follow up with the financial aid office after three to four business days to ensure that they have received your application. If you are selected for verification you may be required to submit additional information to the financial aid office to complete the processing of your application. Check your Senators Mail and MyWS account frequently. Remember deadlines are important!

Your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) is comprised of a username and password that allows you to sign the FAFSA electronically and is your login for your StudentAid.gov account. Students and contributors (parents or spouse) are required to have an FSA ID to complete and sign the online form. Contributors will not have to create a new FSA ID if they have created one previously. Student and spouse or parents must complete separate registrations using separate email addresses.

The FSA ID has the same legal status as your written signature. DO NOT GIVE YOUR FSA ID TO ANYONE as this could put you at risk of identity theft. 

You can retrieve your Username or Password at: Do I need an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA® form? - Federal Student Aid

How do I become an Independent Student for Federal Aid purposes? You may be considered independent if you meet at least one of the following requirements:

• 24 years of age at the time you filed the FAFSA
• Veteran of the US Armed Forces
• Married
• Any time since age 13 you were an orphan, ward of the court, or in foster care
• Have a legal dependent for whom you provide more than half of their support
• Enrolled in a graduate or professional program
• Determined by a court in your state of legal residence that you are an emancipated minor or you are in legal guardianship
• Determined to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless
• Serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces for purposes other than training

If you do not meet any of the above requirements, but you have unusual circumstances such as parental abuse or abandonment- and beginning in 2023-2024, human trafficking as described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq) - legally granted refugee or asylum status, or parent incarceration, you could be eligible to request a dependency override. For more information see Unusual & Special Circumstances

You file as divorced or separated and report only your portion of income, taxes and assets.

No. You must indicate your marital status as of the date you are completing the FAFSA.

If your parents are separated or divorced, provide information about the parent who provided more financial support during the last 12 months. If both parents provided an exact equal amount of financial support or if they don't support you financially, provide information for the parent with the greater income and assets. For help in determining which parent to use, see:  Who is considered a parent? - Federal Student Aid

It is virtually impossible for anyone to live for a year without having some sort of income or spending accumulated assets. If parents have no earnings or assets, they probably had untaxed income from some source. Answer the questions related to income received from other sources than work for both you and your parents. However, if indeed your parents truly had no income or assets, enter zeros. 

Yes, if your step-parent is married to them at the time you fill out the FAFSA, they must report their income and assets even if they weren't married to them in the previous year. Example: Your mother provides the most for you and has remarried. You would use your mother's income and stepfather's income, and you would report on the FAFSA as the number in family: yourself, your mother, your stepfather, and any other children that they support.

Prenuptial agreements are ignored by the federal need analysis process. After all, two individuals (parent and step-parent) cannot make an agreement between them that is binding on a third party (the federal government). The federal government considers the step-parent a source of support regardless of any prenuptial agreements to the contrary. If a step-parent marries the parent, he or she is considered responsible for supporting the parent and children even if he or she is unwilling to do so.

There are circumstances that allow the Financial Aid Office to review student's current income and make a professional judgment in regard to eligibility. These circumstances could include: job loss due to unemployment or illness, separation or divorce, or unusual medical expenses. If conditions such as these occur, contact the Financial Aid Office and request information regarding a "Request for Recalculation." Do not send any letters to the federal aid processing center. They are not able to adjust your aid eligibility.

You can use Estimate Your Federal Student Aid to learn about the financial aid process and get an early estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid. Additionally, the College Board, originators of the well-known SAT tests, has a page on their web site to get an estimated range of the SAI. You can find this web site at: Student Aid Index (SAI) – BigFuture - College Board

Homeschooled students are eligible for federal student aid for college if they have "completed a secondary school education in a home school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under State law" (Section 484(d)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965). High school dropouts must take a GED exam but students who have completed a home schooled secondary education that satisfies the requirements of state law do not.

The federal processor determines your Student Aid Index (SAI) by using the information you provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The SAI formula calculates the total financial resources of you and your parents (or spouse) then deducts the minimum amount needed for your family's normal annual living expenses. The remaining amount may partially be allocated for college expenses. Most of the financial information used to calculate the SAI is transferred directly from the IRS into the FAFSA form if you provided consent and approval. The SAI will be the same at any college you attend. After receiving your SAI from the federal processor, the Office of Financial Aid then subtracts your SAI from the standard student budget (average cost of attendance). In formula form:
Cost of Attendance - SAI = Student Financial Need.

To qualify, recipients must apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), with the results indicating that they have a financial need. Additionally, a Work Study application is required Open the work-study application now. Students who qualify for work-study will be assigned a campus job. We give supervisors the right to accept or decline a current worker who plans on returning for the following year. Students will be assigned their jobs according to openings we have on campus. Work Study is a need-based program.

There are no income cutoffs when determining a student's financial aid eligibility. Many factors are taken into consideration when determining a family's ability to pay beyond parental income such as household size and family assets so it is impossible to determine your eligibility based strictly on income. To know if you will qualify for financial aid. You Must Apply

You must submit an application before an award amount can be determined. Financial aid depends upon a variety of circumstances including enrollment status, student, and student's family economic condition, and assets. You will be sent an award letter indicating your award amount and you may also view award amounts through MyWS.

Yes. Work-study income is taxable. You will receive a W-2 form from the WSCC Business Office at the end of each year, and this form will indicate how much you made from all employment at the college, including work-study employment in the prior year.

No, although the amount may be close if your situation does not change. You are required to apply for financial aid (FAFSA) each year. Many types of financial aid are based on "need" and therefore may vary per year.

Can my financial aid award amount change? Yes. As stated in the student award notification, initial financial aid awards are based on full time enrollment and are best estimates of what you are eligible to receive. Most changes in awards, however, involve factors that are under your control, such as enrollment changes. Your award may be increased, reduced, or even canceled, if:

• You receive any additional outside resource, such as a privately awarded scholarship, which was not listed on your award notification.
• You provided incorrect data on your FAFSA.
• You do not maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• You are suspended by WSCC.
• Transcripts, award amounts or other information that impacts eligibility is received from a college where you previously received aid.
• You do not enroll for the required number of hours to receive aid through the programs awarded to you.

Financial aid is awarded based on an average Cost of Attendance that includes appropriate tuition/fees for your educational program, books/supplies and other educational expenses. Other educational expenses consist of living, transportation, personal and miscellaneous expenses during the academic year

Family assets, such as stocks and bonds, net business worth, and savings are taken into account in determining the Student Aid Index. Eligibility for federal financial aid funds is determined by rules set by the government that provide, among other things, allowances for retirement needs in computing this contribution.

It depends on the award and your remaining eligibility. Many scholarships are not available during the summer. Work-Study is not usually available. Federal Pell Grant eligibility allows for students to receive aid in the summer if they are meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards and are otherwise eligible. Check with the financial aid office.

Financial aid packages should be evaluated based on quantity and quality. A good measure of the quantity of your aid package is to figure out how much financial aid money you will have left after paying your tuition and fees instead of simply considering the total amount. The college offers a Federal Shopping Sheet that can be used to assist you with this information. The shopping sheet can be accessed through MyWS.

No. Audit course hours cannot be used to fulfill your hour requirement for financial aid.

Yes. Federal directives allow students to receive aid for 150% of the program length. However, they also stipulate that the aid be stopped prior to reaching the 150% mark and be in line with Pace (67%). Therefore, students typically receive a warning period when they reach 100-125% of their program length and go on removal after that term. In some instances, students may not receive a warning period if they are at 99% and go over the 125% mark when the calculation is run.

Outside scholarships must be included in your financial aid package as a resource. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the financial aid office of all outside scholarship awards.

Yes. If you are receiving any kind of aid from any source, you must report the scholarship to the Financial Aid Office.

Contact the Financial Aid Office before withdrawing from school. Depending upon when you withdraw from school, you may be required to repay a specified percentage of any aid you have received in the term in which you are withdrawing, since the funds you receive are designed to help you meet your living expenses for the entire term. This will also impact your satisfactory academic progress.

The U. S. Department of Education will process your FAFSA in approximately one week. You may then receive a paper or electronic document that lists answers to the questions on your FAFSA form and gives basic estimates of your aid eligibility. If your FAFSA is complete and processed successfully, you will receive a Student Aid Index (SAI) number. This is the number used in determining your eligibility for federal student aid. Be sure to list Walters State's school code 008863.

Some of the most common acronyms on your FAFSA Submission Summary are:

• SAI - Student Aid Index - A number used by schools to determine your eligibility for federal student aid.
• COA - Cost of Attendance - The total estimated cost to attend a school, including tuition, fees, housing and food, books and other expenses.
• DRN - Data Release Number - A four-digit number assigned to your FAFSA that allows you to release your information to additional schools.

If you do not receive a FAFSA Submission Summary you may log in to StudentAid.gov using your FSA ID; select processed FAFSA submission from "MyActivity" page; and select "View FAFSA Submission Summary".

As required by federal regulations, all students requesting financial aid must maintain a cumulative grade average of 2.0 "C" or greater and complete an acceptable percentage of the program's scheduled objectives as defined in the SAP policies. A student who does not maintain Satisfactory Progress will lose financial aid eligibility. A copy of SAP policies are available here and are included with every award notification. It is the student's responsibility to read and understand the policy.

Financial aid awards are normally released at the start of each semester. As a financial aid recipient, your financial aid award funds will first be used to pay your tuition/fees, and any other charges on your account. After all WSCC bills are paid for the semester and your engagement/attendance in classes has been established, the balance of your financial aid money will be issued to you in the form of a check from the Cashier's Office or made available by direct deposit if the student elects to use this option. Approximately 7-10 days prior to the start of term, a provision for books and supplies will be made if you have met all financial aid eligibility requirements and have a credit balance. The remaining balance of aid checks are disbursed after the 14^th day census. Students should check the term appropriate timetable or Tuition and Fees - Refunds and Repayments page for actual dates.

You must submit a FAFSA in order to determine eligibility for federal and state aid. Also, visit the federal website for more information and guidance about applying for aid.

Verification is a federally mandated quality control process in which files are selected at random to check certain data elements on the FAFSA. If your file is selected for verification, the school is required to compare these data elements with the information on your tax returns or other documents to "verify" their accuracy. Your FAFSA Submission Summary will tell you if you have been selected for verification. You may see an asterisk (*) by the Student Aid Index (SAI) number. You may also see a comment. Any changes that you make to your FAFSA may also create discrepancies that will have to be reviewed and verified. You may also be selected for Identity Verification. This may be a random selection or caused by data discrepancies in submitted information. Identity verification is to confirm that information you provided is accurate and to prevent fraud.

You can review your MyWS account to see if you are selected and what requirements are needed. Also, you will receive an email to your Senators Mail account advising that you were selected for verification. The email will contain instructions directing you to view the Alerts through MyWS for a detailed listing of what is needed to complete the process. Students should submit the required information as quickly as possible to the financial aid office. Verification forms should be completed through your MyWS Account or other requested information such as tax documents, should be uploaded through the provided Secure Document Upload Form. You may also bring documents to a campus location.