Frequently Asked Questions

• Grants
• Scholarships
• Student Employment/Work study
• Loans
• Veteran's Benefits

Grants and scholarships do not need to be paid back as long as students meet SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS each semester.  Student employment/Work study allows the student to work and earn money to help pay for school. Loans are borrowed money that must be repaid with interest.

Student loans and student employment/work study are NOT packaged. Please inquire in the financial aid office if you want to apply for either of these programs.

If you are a veteran, contact the financial aid office to determine if you are entitled to financial aid benefits offered through the Veteran's Administration.

Apply using FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA on the Web as soon as possible after October 1 for the appropriate financial aid year. The web address is studentaid.gov

CCC's Title IV School Code is 004743.

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This application is used to apply for federal financial aid and many state and institutional funds.

The U. S. Department of Education will process your electronic FAFSA and e-mail a Student Aid Report (SAR) to you. CCC will also receive a copy.

Be sure to carefully check the report for any incorrect information. If none, keep it for your records. It is a summary of the information that you (and your family) provided on the FASFA. This form is also used to make any corrections to the data that you initially provided that you have determined to be incorrect. It is not necessary for you to provide this report to the College Financial Aid Office unless you make corrections. It is important the office be aware of any corrections that might need to be made, as they will be able to make these corrections electronically. If you do not receive you SAR after about four weeks, contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4FED-AID.

EFC stands for 'Expected Family Contribution'. The Department of Education uses income and asset information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to calculate each student's EFC. The student's EFC determines his/her eligibility for need-based aid, such as Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Direct Loans.

You can go online to FAFSA Corrections on the Web and add CCC to your SAR. The CCC School Code is 004743.

Yes. If you are planning to take classes' consecutively during the fall, spring and summer semesters, you only have to apply once for all three terms. If you are starting classes in the spring or summer, you should apply for financial aid by the respective deadlines for those terms. If you applied for financial aid through the FAFSA the previous academic year, you may be eligible to pre-fill most of the personal and demographic information you provided last year. However, this does not mean that it will take less time to process your financial aid. You should still plan to apply by the deadline dates in order to have your funds in time to pay tuition. Renewal of your financial aid package also depends on you making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree, such as earning a minimum number of credits and achieving a minimum GPA.

No, the FAFSA is free. Never pay an individual or an organization to help you fill out the FAFSA. You can get free help online or by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (run by the U.S. Department of Education) at 1-800-4FED-AID or you can come in to CCC Financial Aid Office and we will help you navigate through the application.

Yes. You must have a Social Security number (SSN) to be eligible for federal student financial aid. If you submit a FAFSA without an SSN your FAFSA will be returned to you unprocessed by FAFSA's Central Processing.

ONLY if they are requested. Check your PATHWAY account, under the FINANCIAL AID tab to see what information is missing to complete your file. Be sure to include your name and CCC ID number on all documentation submitted, including documents requested for parent(s) or spouse.

Every student's file is different, so your application might take longer to process than a friends based on the information required. It typically takes about 4-6 weeks to process applications.

You will receive a Financial Aid Award Notification via your CCC email account from the CCC Financial Aid Office which will detail all aid for which you are eligible for the entire school year. You may not receive aid in excess of your cost of education. The award letter will detail the financial aid "offer" or "award," which is made after your eligibility for funds has been determined. The award, which may include several kinds of financial aid, is called a '"package." The package may contain a combination of grants, scholarship, work study or the recommendation that you obtain a student loan if you have not applied for one. The initial award is based on your attending full-time (12 or more credit hours per term) and is revised if your enrollment status changes.

Yes. There are many forms of financial aid that you may be eligible for: state student grants, work study, student loans, and scholarships. See Types of Aid for more information.

No, you can only receive financial aid at one college at a time; however, students who are taking classes at two different colleges during the same semester may be eligible to receive Financial Aid for their combined enrollment at both colleges. For the Federal Pell Grant, a student can only receive a Pell Grant payment from one college per semester. However, it may be possible to combine the student's credit hours at two colleges into one total enrollment status, and receive the Pell Grant based on the total enrollment from one college. This is referred to as a Consortium Agreement. If a student receiving Pell is enrolled in 12 or more credit hours at one college, or is only loan eligible and in 6 credit hours, the student will not benefit from a Consortium Agreement. With regards to a Consortium Agreement, one school is considered the "home" and the other is the "host". The "home" school is where the student will actually receive their Financial Aid from the Consortium Agreement, and where the student initiates the Consortium Agreement. In most cases the homeschool is the school where the student will be receiving their degree. The "host" school receives a Consortium Agreement from the "home" school, verifies the student's information, and sends the information back to the "home" school. Consortium Agreements where CCC is the host school will be processed within one week of submission. They will not be processed the same day as they are received. Consortium Agreements where CCC is the home school will not show the combined enrollment for the Pell Grant until it is time for disbursement and will only include hours required for their degree. Contact our Financial Aid Office if you have any questions.

DO NOT share your FSA ID with anyone. Request a duplicate FSA ID if it has been lost or forgotten or if you feel your FSA ID has been compromised. When you receive a FSA ID from the Department of Education, you agree to not disclose or share your FSA ID with anyone because your FSA ID serves as your electronic signature and provides access to your personal records, you should never give your FSA ID to anyone, including commercial service providers that offer to help you complete your FAFSA. Be sure to keep your FSA ID in a safe place; you will be able to use the same FSA ID in the future to apply electronically for student aid and access your U.S. Department of Education records.

You can check your financial aid status on your Pathway account under the FINANCIAL AID tab.

The Financial Aid process can take eight weeks or longer, depending on what documentation is required, and how quickly the student fulfills these requirements. Apply early; some types of Federal Aid are awarded to eligible students on a first-come first-serve basis.

Cost of Attendance: The estimated cost to attend Clovis Community College for the academic year. It includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, meals and housing, personal expenses and transportation. Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The monetary amount expected to be paid out-of-pocket by the student or family toward college costs. Outside resources: Any aid that is received from external/private scholarships, grants, other benefits, etc. What is financial need? Financial need means that a student's family's financial resources, measured by a formula established by the federal government, are not sufficient to cover a student's educational costs.

Authorized aid is aid that is scheduled for disbursement, with all the disbursement requirements completed. It will be disbursed to your student account when the disbursement date is reached.

Memo items are aid items that are included in the award letter but have not yet been accepted or have requirements still pending. These requirements may include returning your signed award letter, providing copies of tax returns, or completing a promissory note and/or entrance counseling.

Each college or university is allocated different amounts of state and federal aid funds and choose how best to allocate the aid to their students.

Yes. Initial financial aid awards are the best estimate of your eligibility. Most changes in awards, however, involve factors that are under your control and of which you should be aware. Your award may be increased, reduced, or even canceled, if:
Your family financial circumstance changes, causing your need to change. You receive any additional outside resource, such as a privately awarded scholarship. You provided incorrect data on your FAFSA. You do not maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress. Your level of enrollment is less than full-time. All initial awards are based on the belief that a student will enroll full-time. If you do not enroll full-time, you will be placed in a student budget that accurately reflects your level of enrollment.