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Financial Aid FAQs

FAFSA stands for "Free Application for Federal Student Aid." You must complete FAFSA once a school year to determine if you are eligible for any Federal Aid such as Pell Grant. The FAFSA aid year begins in the Fall semester and ends in the Summer semester. Visit studentaid.gov to complete the FAFSA. 

FAFSA has two categories for students: independent and dependent.

  • Dependent students are required to provide parent information on FAFSA.
  • Independent students do not have to provide parent information on FAFSA.

FAFSA determines whether you are a dependent or independent student based on the answers you provide. 

Some students get selected by FAFSA for Verification. Verification is MCC's way of verifying that the information you listed on FAFSA is correct. The Verification process requires students to submit additional paperwork such as a Verification Worksheet, student tax return information, parent tax return information, college schedules, etc. If you are selected for Verification, you must complete the Verification process in order to be considered for Federal Aid such as Pell Grant. 

All your Financial Aid information is available to you on Eaglenet under the Student Finance and Records tab. You can access your Financial Aid standing, Financial Aid requirements, Financial Aid awards, scholarships, and many other things. You are responsible for monitoring your Financial Aid information on Eaglenet. 

SAP stands for Satisfactory Academic Progress. If you are meeting SAP, this means you are in Good Financial Aid standing and eligible to receive Federal Aid. If you are not meeting SAP, you are on Financial Aid Suspension and ineligible to receive Federal Aid. Financial Aid Suspension and Academic Suspension are two different things. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress


Appeal Process: A student who has at least a 1.50 cumulative grade point average may appeal the suspension of financial aid.  A completed appeal form must be submitted to the financial aid office.  The form may be obtained in the Financial Aid Office or submitted online here.  The appeal will be reviewed and determined whether the suspension is justified.

An aspect of SAP is that students cannot surpass 93 overall hours. Your overall hours are a combination of your institutional hours here at MCC and your transfer hours from other institutions. If you have over 93 overall hours, you are on Financial Aid Suspension due to Hours and ineligible to receive Federal Aid. If you have transfer hours, you can meet with an advisor and potentially remove transfer hours that you do not need for the degree/certification that you are currently pursuing. If you are able to get back under the 93 hour maximum, you could go back to Good Financial Aid standing and become eligible for Federal Aid again. 

No, you do not need to reapply for Tuition Guarantee your second year receiving it; however, you do need to complete FAFSA and MTAG for your second year. 

You must first complete the FAFSA. If you are selected for Verification, you must first complete that process as well. Check with the Financial Aid Office, and they will determine if you are eligible to complete the application. Click here to learn more. 

If you are interested in student loans, speak with someone in the Financial Aid Office. If you are eligible to borrow Federal Direct Loans, the Financial Aid Office will give you a list of steps you need to complete in order to apply to borrow student loans. The Financial Aid Office can also provide information on private student loan providers. 

Additional Information

 

For more informationFor more information:
Financial Aid Office 
finaid@meridiancc.edu
601.484.8898