2005 Spring Financial Aid Newsletter

SUMMER FINANCIAL AID
Summer financial aid is available and is based on the 2005-2006 financial aid application process. The following types are available to those who meet the eligibility guidelines:

Federal PELL Grant - Based on need, must file 2005-2006 FAFSA. NOTE: Any PELL used in summer may reduce PELL in Spring 2006 if full time Fall 2005.

Federal Direct Student Loans - Must be enrolled in at least six credit hours. Students must file 2005-2006 FAFSA and submit request for Summer 2005 Student Loan.

New York State TAP - Based on need, student must be in at least six credit hours and full time either Spring 2005 or Fall 2005. Students must file 2005-2006 FAFSA and 2005-2006 Express TAP Application. NOTE: Due to New York State budgetary procedures, TAP would not be available to pay for summer charges prior to the semester. In fact, students who intend to use TAP should make other payment arrangements, and are usually reimbursed approximately one year later when New York State makes summer TAP funds available to schools from the previous year. Also, utilizing TAP for summer school may be a disadvantage to students planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree due to the limited number of TAP awards a student can receive.

Federal Work Study - Based on need, students must file FAFSA for 2005-2006 and employment would begin July 1, 2005. Priority would be given to full time students.

Any student applying for student aid for summer must:

• Be Matriculated in a Degree Program.
• Be in Good Academic Standing at the end of the Spring 2005 semester.

Students can apply for a deferment of summer tuition if they have filed 2005-2006 FAFSA and can demonstrate eligibility to the Financial Aid Office.

In addition, students should be aware that there will be no summer refund checks mailed to students taking courses in Summer Session II until at least the end of the third week of July. Students who attend only Session I courses would not be issued refunds until the session has been completed. Students are expected to plan to provide their own educationally related living expenses until refunds are issued.

LOAN EXIT COUNSELING

Prior to graduating or leaving college, borrowers are required to complete an exit counseling session. The purpose of the exit counseling session is to help students understand their rights and responsibilities as a Direct Loan borrower. Loan Exit Counseling sessions are conducted on-line. Student can link to the Direct Loan exit counseling site from the MCC Financial Aid web page at www.monroecc.edu/depts/finaid .This online exit counseling session will take about 30-40 minutes to complete.

Students are strongly encouraged to file early for financial aid in order to insure that their financial aid is processed by the new tuition due date. The MCC Financial Aid Office will be offering filing workshops over the next few months to assist students with electronic filing. Check the MCC Financial Aid Web page for dates and times. www.monroecc.edu/depts/finaid

1. MCC Scholarship Brochure 2005-2006: Includes a description and an application for scholarships that are funded through the MCC Foundation. They are available for new and continuing MCC students for next school year. Deadlines and criteria vary for each individual scholarship.
2. Thompson Family Scholarship for 2005-2006: Available for continuing full time students. Eligible applicants must have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, financial need, and a unique challenge to attend MCC. Deadline for completion and return of this scholarship application is May 6, 2005.

Students can download the application from the MCC Financial Aid web page (www.monroecc.edu/depts/finaid) or request the applications from Financial Aid Office on the Brighton Campus or the Student Services Center at the Damon City Campus.

• To retrieve a PIN through an e-mail notification;
• To re-establish the PIN because the user unsuccessfully attempted to authenticate the PIN within 3 consecutive tries when logging in to a secure Web site or when signing a document electronically. This means that after providing the correct identifiers-Social Security Number (SSN), Last Name, and Date of Birth (DOB)- the user failed to provide the correct PIN in three consecutive attempts;
• To update an e-mail or mailing address on the PIN Web site without using a PIN; or
• To re-establish a PIN that has been disabled. Some reasons why a PIN may be disabled include not being used for 30 months or because the user intentionally disabled the PIN using the "Disable My PIN" function on the PIN Web site.

Under most circumstances, a PIN that has been disabled may be re-established by going to the PIN Web site, selecting "Re-Establish My PIN" from the home page and providing the correct challenge question response. However, there are situations in which a PIN will be permanently deactivated. These include situations in which users are found on the Death Master File (they are listed as deceased by the Social Security Administration) and when users cannot correctly answer the challenge question within three tries, after first failing to authenticate the PIN. These individuals will have to reapply for a PIN.

These changes have been made to ensure the security of the PIN process and to remind you of the importance of safeguarding your PIN. Your PIN serves as your electronic signature and provides access to your personal records, and it is critical that it remain as secure as possible.

FOLLOWING UP ON YOUR FINANCIAL AID

It is important for students to know that the financial aid application process is a lengthy one and the filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is only the first step in this process. Students are strongly encouraged to follow up on their financial aid application after they have filed their FAFSA, as many students are often required to submit additional forms and documents to complete the application process.

Every applicant’s FAFSA is matched against various federal databases (Social Security, Selective Service, Dept. of Veteran Affairs, etc…) to make sure they meet the basic eligibility requirements for federal financial aid. If it cannot be determined that a student meets the basic eligibility requirements, they may be asked to submit items such as a Copy of their Social Security Card, Proof of U.S. citizenship, Selective Service registration confirmation, Copy of your alien registration card, or Proof of being a veteran of the armed forces, just to name a few.

One third of all federal aid applicants are randomly selected for a process called “verification”, which means that the MCC Financial Aid Office is required to verify specific income and family information that was reported on the student’s FAFSA. This will require the student submit copies of their tax documents and the completion of a verification worksheet.

In addition, some students will lose their eligibility for Federal and/or State aid programs at the end of this semester due to their failure to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for each program, as outlined in pages 31-34 of the 2004-05 MCC College Catalog & Student Handbook.

For students in any of the above situations it is important for them to respond to any requests for additional information or ask any questions they may have as quickly as possible to insure that their financial aid can be processed in a timely fashion. Students who delay in providing necessary information or addressing issues regarding their eligibility run the risk of being de-scheduled from their courses, not having a bookstore credit, or not being able to register for courses for the next semester.

2005 Winter Financial Aid Newsletter

2004 Summer Financial Aid Newsletter

2004 Spring Financial Aid Newsletter

2004 Winter Financial Aid Newsletter

2003 Fall Financial Aid Newsletter

2003 Summer Financial Aid Newsletter

2003 Spring Financial Aid Newsletter

2003 Winter Financial Aid Newsletter