How to Apply for Financial Aid

If you or a family member whose income was provided on the FAFSA has had a significant change in income, we may be able to use professional judgement to update your FAFSA with the appropriate documentation. To request a re-evaluation, submit the following:

1. A detailed letter of explanation. Be sure to include:
   • The name of person whose income has changed and their relationship to the student.
   • Date the income changed occurred.
   • Circumstance (i.e. lost job and still unemployed, started new job at lower pay rate, reduced hours, etc.)
   • Tell us about current sources of household income.
2. Documentation.
   • Separation letter from previous employer
   • Pay stubs from the most recent pay period
   • Unemployment documentation

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Extenuating Parental Circumstance (for students with NO parental contact)

Examples might include:

• Parental abuse or abandonment
• Parental whereabouts are unknown, or
• Other similar circumstances that prevent a student from being able to obtain parental information for the FAFSA

Students in these scenarios may request a Dependency Override by submitting:

1. A written, signed statement from the student applicant explaining the situation in detail. The letter must address the student’s relationship with both biological or adoptive parents.
2. A written, signed statement from an adult outside the family, in a professional position, who can confirm the situation (a high school guidance counselor, psychologist, family physician, clergy person, or member of the law enforcement, etc.). This statement must be on professional letterhead.
3. Documentation of court or DSS (Department of Social Services) involvement, if applicable.

If you are unable to obtain supporting documentation from a professional, please contact the Financial Aid to discuss other options.

Parent Non-Support (for students who still have parental contact)

• Parent is unwilling to provide the financial information needed to complete the FAFSA,
• Parent refuses to contribute towards college expenses
• Student financially supports themselves

Students who meet these criteria do not qualify for a Dependency Override, but can be considered for an unsubsidized student loan only if they provide the following:

1. A written, signed statement from the student applicant explaining the situation. In this letter, the student must state that they do not live with their parents, that they receive no financial support from parents, and indicate how student is being supported (self-supporting, living with another family member, etc.). Please be sure to address the situations concerning both of your biological or adoptive parents. 
2. A signed statement from parent (or both parents if they are not married and living together) indicating that the student does not live with them, that they do not and will not provide any financial support to student, and that they refuse to complete the FAFSA. Students should make every effort to obtain this letter from their parent. If a letter from the parent not possible, a student must submit a written, signed statement from an adult outside the family, in a professional position, who can confirm the situation (a high school guidance counselor, psychologist, family physician, clergy person, or member of the law enforcement, etc.). This letter must be on the individual’s professional letterhead.

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Provide:

1. Letter explaining the circumstances.
2. Documentation of the medical expenses that were paid out of pocket (Cannot be copies of the bills themselves, must document actual payment).

Please note that additional documentation may be needed to process your request. Students will be notified in writing of any requests for additional information. Although we do our best to accommodate extenuating circumstances, approval of these requests is not guaranteed. 

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Students apply for financial aid by completing the FAFSA and designating QCC as a school to receive it. If additional documentation is requested, students must respond to these requests as quickly as possible.

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Once your financial aid file is complete and your application is reviewed, you will receive an Award Letter in the mail. Award Letters begin to be mailed in April. Back to Top

The federal definition of an independent student is very specific and does not necessarily mean that the parent(s) are supporting the student. However, the federal government feels that it is the parent(s') responsibility to assist their children in paying for their education. To the extent that parent(s) are unable to assist, financial aid is available to help out. Students are considered "independent" for financial aid purposes, if they meet any of the following criteria:

• Is 24 years old
• Is currently married
• Is an orphan or ward of the court
• Is a Veteran
• Has dependents who receive more than half of their financial support from the student
• Is a graduate student
• Is an emancipated minor
• Is or was in legal guardianship
• Is homeless (see FAFSA for details)

Students who do not meet these criteria must provide their parent(s) information on the application. An appeal process is available for the student with extenuating circumstances that make it impossible for the student to obtain their parent(s)' information. Examples of extenuating circumstances include such things as, parent(s) live in another country and student cannot contact them, student has been removed from the home due to parental abuse, etc. Letters of appeal may be directed to the Director of Financial Aid and must include third party documentation verifying the circumstances.

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Not necessarily. QCC’s financial aid eligibility criteria are different from the criteria to qualify for the MASSGrant. If you are denied a MASSGrant, you may still be eligible for our other aid programs.

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If you attended classes, you are entitled to keep a portion of your financial aid, based on the date you officially withdraw. It is very important that you complete the official withdrawal process. A federally mandated calculation is done to determine how much of the financial aid you can keep. Basically, you earn a percentage of your financial aid for each day you attend classes. For example, if you attend 30% of the semester, you may keep 30% of your financial aid. Students who receive state grants or tuition waivers may be able to keep enough grant or waiver just to cover the costs of their tuition and fee charges. Once you attend 60% of the semester, you are considered to have earned 100% of your financial aid. If you receive a financial aid refund check and withdraw before earning 100% of your financial aid, you may be required to return some of these funds. More information is available in the Financial Aid Office. Back to Top

The Student Aid Report was emailed to you by the US Department of Education's federal application processor. It has important information that you should review.

1. Review all of the data you provided and make sure it is accurate. If you find a mistake you can make corrections at the FAFSA website.
2. Check on the last section and be sure you see Quinsigamond Community College listed as one of the schools that received your information.
3. QCC encourages students and parents to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool as the fastest and most accurate means of providing tax information. If you did not initially use IRS Data Retrieval you may be able to make a correction and utilize the tool.
4. The federal processor matches some of your personal information with other federal agencies to verify that you have met certain eligibility requirements. If there is a mismatch you will be required to submit additional documentation to the Financial Aid Office. It is important to respond to all requests for additional information in a timely manner.

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The Federal School Code is 002175 Back to Top

Yes, bookstore allowances are available. If your financial aid is awarded at least one week prior to the start of the semester, and your financial aid funding exceeds your tuition and fee charges, you will also be notified by Qmail when your bookstore allowance is ready. Students who are using student loans toward their books must complete all loan requirements prior to being issued an allowance. If you choose not use the allowance offered to you, those funds will be refunded to you later in the semester. Registered students who have a complete financial aid application on file but are still waiting for their award may request an allowance using the Bookstore Allowance Request Form for the applicable semester. Back to Top

Once you complete the FAFSA, the Financial Aid Office reviews your application to determine if additional documents are necessary. If more information is required, we must wait until you respond to this request before we can continue working on your file. Once your file is complete, depending on the time of year, it may take several weeks before you will receive an Award Letter. Although you can submit your FAFSA as early as October preceding the next fall semester, the Financial Aid Office will begin reviewing applications in March. It is not unusual for the entire process to take 12-16 weeks. Back to Top

Students are placed on suspension if they are not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements. Academic records are reviewed after each semester to ensure students meet these standards. Students who are suspended do not qualify for financial aid but may regain eligibility.

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You can look up your student loan servicer at www.studentaid.gov. You must log in using your FSA User ID. A list of your loans will appear and you can access your loan servicer information by clicking the loan number on the left. Back to Top

Refund checks for students with a credit balance are generally available in late October for the Fall semester, early March for the Spring semester, and early July for the Summer term.  Students will receive an email to their student email address when a check is available.  Be sure to check your student email before waiting in line at the Payment Center.  If your credit balance is the result of a student loan, all required loan documents must be completed before a refund check is issued.

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Your financial aid award is based on a number of factors including but not limited to: the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from your FAFSA, the number of credits you plan to enroll, your dependency status, and whether or not you applied by our Priority Filing Dates.

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Financial aid funds are generally credited to students’ QCC accounts starting in the middle of the semester and weekly thereafter. Back to Top

While certain aid programs have their own criteria, students generally maintain their eligibility by filing their FAFSA on time each academic year, and meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.

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Third-party and outside scholarship funds will be applied to the student's account for the semester in which the award is given. If the student has sufficient funding that there is no balance due to the College in that semester, QCC will contact the funding source and ask if the funds can be refunded to the student or if the funds must be returned to the funding source and QCC will act accordingly. The College will no longer hold over funds from one semester or academic year to the next.

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