How do I apply for Federal financial aid at Estrella Mountain Community College?

You may file your application electronically using one of the computers in the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) or use a personal computer by accessing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Also, you may complete and submit the paper FAFSA. Be sure to list Estrella Mountain Community College's school code (031563) in step 6 of the FAFSA. Our office will receive an electronic record of your application from the federal processor.

What records will I need to complete my FAFSA?

Generally, all you will need is your federal tax return (IRS 1040, 1040A, or 1040 EZ). You may also want to have your w-2 forms and any other records of money earned in the tax year you are using to complete the FAFSA. This would include records of untaxed income, such as welfare, social security, AFDC or ADC, or veteran's benefits. You may also need to use current bank statement, business or farm records and any records of stocks, bonds or other investments.

How often do I need to complete a financial aid application?

You will need to complete a FAFSA every year for each academic year. An academic year is Fall, Spring and Summer terms. The FAFSA may be completed on or after January 1 for the upcoming school year.

When is the deadline to apply for Federal financial aid?

The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid form is available January 2nd of every year for the upcoming Fall and Spring Semesters. Every student should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form as soon as possible after January 2nd of the calendar year they plan to attend college. For example, if you plan to attend Fall and/or Spring 2009-2010, you should apply for aid in January of 2009. Financial aid funds are awarded on a first come, first served basis. The earlier you apply, the more financial aid there is available. Students who apply and/or submit required information after May 1st of the year they plan to attend college should understand that financial aid may NOT be processed before the Fall term begins.

What types of financial aid will I be considered for by applying with the FAFSA?

You will be considered for the Federal Pell Grant, Leap Grant and Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant. Grants are considered gift aid and do not have to be paid back as long as you remain eligible. You will also be considered for Federal Stafford loans and Work-Study that allows you to work part-time to assist you in paying for college.

How many hours must I take to be considered for Federal financial aid?

You will be considered for Pell Grant when you take one (1) or more hours. To be considered for other campus based grants you will be considered when you take three (3) or more. To be considered for Federal Loans you need to be in six (6) or more hours.

What happens after Estrella Mountain Community College receives my information from the Federal processor?

Our office will notify you that we have received your information from the processor:

1. You will receive an award letter notification with information on what type(s) of aid you are eligible for OR
2. You will receive a notification from our office with information on additional documentation requirements. You need to respond to our office with this documentation to have your file completed. Once your file is complete, you will receive an award letter notification with information on what type(s) of aid you are eligible for.
3. Students who wish to receive Stafford Loans must also complete an an online Master Promissory Note (MPN) AFTER their loans have been awarded and certified. Once your loans have been awarded, you can access your MPN online at http://www.estrellamountain.edu/financialaid/mpn.asp.

It is the student's responsibility to check their financial aid status online regularly. This is done through the online student center at www.my.maricopa.edu. On this website you can view any missing financial aid documents, see if you've been awarded financial aid, review your charges, etc. If you have not yet completed the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA), you can do so at:  http://www.estrellamountain.edu/financialaid/howto.asp. For assistance logging into www.my.maricopa.edu, please call 1-888-994-4433 or go to http://www.maricopa.edu/portal/new/student-center/help.

Can I receive financial aid from two schools at the same time?

Students attending two schools in the same enrollment period must inform both Financial Aid Offices at each school. Students cannot receive funds at both schools. In some instances, it is possible for one school to fund enrollment for classes at the other school. To determine eligibility, complete the Consortium Agreement Form. Your financial aid must be processed at the college where you are attending more than 50 percent of the credits for that term. You also must be taking at least six credit hours per term at the school that awards your aid. The courses you take at the other school need to be 100 or 200 level courses and count toward your degree.

How will I receive my financial aid funds?

Upon receipt of funds, awards are credited toward any tuition and fees that you owe the college. Federal Work Study earnings are paid every two weeks for hours worked. All aid disbursements are handled by Enrollment Services. The remaining funds are mailed to the student. Specific information pertaining to the Spring 2009 term can below:

Book Charges:

Students who have been awarded may request to charge their textbooks against their financial aid (NOTE: your award must be enough to cover all tuition and fees before you can request the balance to be used for books.) To make this request, go directly to the bookstore between January 5--23, 2009 and present a Picture ID.

Checks:

Per EMCC Fiscal Services Policy, ALL financial aid checks are mailed via U.S. mail upon verification of enrollment status. NO EXCEPTIONS. For students who have been awarded, most checks will be processed between January 27 and February 9, 2009. If you are expecting a financial aid check and have not received it by February 17, 2009, you may contact the EMCC Financial Aid Office at (623) 935-8930.

LOANS: Students who are expecting a student loan may verify anticipated disbursement dates online at www.salliemae.com. EMCC generally receives the disbursement approximately one week after the anticipated disbursement date online.

NOTE: As indicated above, all financial aid checks will be processed after the Late Registration/Schedule Adjustment period. Additionally, students with late starting classes may have some (or all) of their grant and/or loan disbursements delayed past the dates above. Please plan accordingly.

What are the eligibility requirements to receive Federal financial aid?

You must be over 16 years old and not concurrently enrolled in high school, an elementary or secondary program or taking college credit to earn a high school diploma or GED.

• You must have a high school diploma, GED or pass the approved ability to benefit test.
• Be a U.S. Citizen, national or permanent resident of the U.S.
• You must be enrolled in a degree or eligible certification program at GateWay Community College.
• You cannot be in default on a federal loan or owe a repayment of a federal grant.
• If required, you must be registered with selective service
• You must maintain satisfactory academic progress as outlined in GateWay's "Standards of Academic Progress for Financial Aid Eligibility."
• You must have not been convicted of certain drug related crimes.

How do I apply for Scholarships?

To apply for scholarships you can visit the scholarship website http://www.estrellamountain.edu/scholarships/availablescholarship99.asp.  This will list scholarship that are currently available.  There is also a link to outside search engines that will assist you in unsing the internet to locate scholarships.

Treatment of Title IV Aid When a Student Withdraws

The law specifies how your school must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Academic Competetiveness Grants, National SMART grants, TEACH Grants, Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), and Federal Perkins Loans.

When you withdraw during your payment period or period of enrollment (you may contact the Financial Aid office to define these for you and tell you which one applies) the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or you.

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro-rata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, your school must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. Your school may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission, you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.

There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you will not receive any FFEL or Direct loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.

If you receive (or your school or parent, receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

1. your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or

2. the entire amount of excess funds.

The school must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.

If your school is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time. Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You must make arrangements with your school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that your school may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. Your school may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return. You can view the tuition refund policy and requirements and procedures for withdrawing from school at http://www.maricopa.edu/gvpolicy/adminregs/students/2_2.htm#refund