Financial Aid Eligibility

To be eligible to receive financial aid at Jefferson College, a student must be enrolled at the college and meet the following basic requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen with a valid Social Security number
• Have completed a high school diploma or GED
• Provide consent and approval to have federal tax information transferred directly to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form
• Be accepted and enrolled as a regular student pursuing an associate degree or eligible certificate program
• Demonstrate financial need for need-based federal and state programs
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress
• Not be in default on any educational loan or have owe a repayment on a federal student grant
• Not receive financial aid at more than one school for the same period of time

Students should be aware of their Financial Aid Rights and Responsibilities.

Qualifying for Financial Aid

Financial aid eligibility is based on financial need. There is no income cutoff or other simple method of determining whether you will qualify for need-based financial aid or “free” money. However, you can estimate your eligibility by using the Federal Student Aid Estimator.

Determining Financial Need

Financial Need = Cost of Attendance  – Student Aid Index

Your financial need determines the maximum amount of need-based financial aid (grants, federal work study, subsidized loan) you can receive. Non-need based loans (unsubsidized loan, PLUS loan) may be used to replace the Student Aid Index. After your need has been calculated, your award package is determined and may include a combination of scholarships, grants, work-study, and/or loans.

Amount of Financial Aid

The amount of need-based and/or non-need based aid will depend on your financial need, as well as other factors, such as the availability of funds, award limits, and award requirements.

Once your eligibility for aid is determined, you will receive a financial aid offer letter from Jefferson College, which will include the awards and amounts for which you qualify. These awards are based on full-time enrollment. You can receive financial aid for less than full-time; however, the award amounts will be pro-rated based on actual enrollment.

Enrollment statuses for Financial Aid for the fall, spring, and summer terms are defined as follows:

*Note: Financial aid offered by Jefferson College cannot be transferred to any other school.