Online Student Services

Financial Aid

The Financial Aid Office remains ready to assist you during this unprecedented and challenging time.  We are here for you!  Let us know how we can support you. 

Sincerely, 

Financial Aid Office-Fullerton College

Services Available Today:

  • Communication with FA staff via email
  • Communication with FA Office via Facebook
  • Remote FA Counseling Appointments via Zoom
  • Ability to have a more in-depth virtual advising session for assistance on FA or FAFSA/CADAA via Q Less and Zoom
  • Verification, Special Conditions, and Appeals
  • Awarding and Disbursement of FA is ongoing 
  • Email all FA Staff at the Financial Aid contact page
  • Need assistance over the phone or in-person at the Financial Aid Counter or Computer Lab?
    Get in line with QLess!
  • NEW!  Text Us!  You can text all staff.  For a listing of text numbers, visit: the Financial Aid contact page
Appeals

Appeals are still being accepted for spring Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), as well as fall and spring California College Promise Grant (CCPG).  If approved, your payment will be the same for spring, and your fees would still be waived for CCPG for fall and spring, as if you had submitted them sooner…there is only a delay in funds being received, not a reduction in the amount of them.

Remote Services

We will be continuing to assist you to the best of our ability via telephone on Q Less, and remote advising for financial aid, also via Q Less.

Federal Work Study Students

For Federal Work-Study students who were working as of the date the campus was last open, Friday, March 13th, you should continue to report your scheduled hours worked, as if you would have been working had the campus not closed.  This is true whether or not you are currently able to perform your duties off campus remotely or not.  In the coming weeks, we will be notifying you of this temporary change for the spring semester via email, as well as your supervisor.  In order to take advantage of this, you must remain enrolled in and attending at least 6 units remotely.

Requesting Technology For Remote Instruction

If you are faced with challenges in how to purchase technology for a computer in order to successfully participate in remote instruction, the Financial Aid Office may be able to assist you with either a Direct Stafford Loan or grant.  This would depend on your current student financial aid budget, which we can advise you on, and would be requested by a budget increase request form. Please reach out to your FA Technician directly, via text or email here:

https://financialaid.fullcoll.edu/staff.html

 

Find Us On Facebook For More Direct Support

Currently, we are able to guide and assist you, if you are on Facebook, via our FinAid Fullerton page.  You can link to it from our website at financialaid.fullcoll.edu or by typing in a search for the page on Facebook.  

FAFSA, CADAA, & Student Verification Portal

All Federal and State application sites for FAFSA and CADAA, as well as our Student Forms Verification portal, remain operational for you.

Canceled Classes, Grades, & EW/W - How This Can Affect Your Financial Aid

You will no doubt see guidance in taking an EW grade as an option if you choose to withdraw from a class.  Please know that currently, an EW is treated as a W for financial aid purposes.  Because we are passed the census or freeze date, you will not owe funds back if you choose to Withdraw or take an EW, however it will be taken into consideration for SAP calculations in completing the required 67% cumulative ratio required.  You can read more about SAP here:  https://financialaid.fullcoll.edu/pdf/2019-2020_Satisfactory_Academic_Progress_rev_2019-07-30.pdf.  

For the CCPG Academic and Progress standards, we only consider your completed grades (A, B, C, D, or F), so you would not be affected whether you earn a W or an EW.

If you completely withdraw from all your classes, you would be subject to a provision called Return to Title IV (R2T4.). We currently do not have the power to waive this requirement.  The law states that you earn 100% of your aid at the 60% mark of the semester.  If at all possible, choose to remain in your classes.  Although State regulations are being modified to allow you to receive your enrollment fees back, your Federal financial aid may in many cases exceed the amount of savings from receiving a refund of enrollment fees paid.  In most cases too, Financial Aid students had their fees waived through the CCPG, so you did not incur out of pocket expenses for your enrollment fees.

Canceled classes or classes where the entire class is removed from the record (ie., not earning a W or EW), would most likely result in all funds being sent back to Federal Student Aid and billed back to the student.  We hope this is a last option for all of you.

The Federal government last week modified legislation to waive interest payment and accrual on Federal Direct Stafford and parent PLUS loans, and to suspend payments.  For the vast majority of you, your loans are in a deferment status due to being enrolled in six units or more with us.  However, if you happened to be repaying a current loan, or are being assessed interest, know that you can and should contact your Federal Loan Servicer.  If you are unaware of who that is, you can find out at: https://studentaid.gov.  It is important to know that this waiver or forbearance appears to not be automatic: you would need to request it.  Keep in mind that if you are enrolled in at least six units, and you have only a Direct Subsidized Loan, your loan is already interest free, and you are not required to make payments, so you would not need to take action on anything.  More information on these provisions can be located here:  https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/coronavirus?sf119852937=1

Unemployment and Emergency Fund Support

For those of you who are temporarily displaced from employment, (or your parents if you are a dependent student), please know that you can request an income adjustment by contacting us directly.  This would allow you to submit proof of the reduction in income for 2020 earnings, even though your FAFSA/CADAA for either 2019/2020, is based off 2017 taxes, or 2020/2021 academic year which is based off of 2018 taxes.  If you or your family are experiencing a large reduction in income, this may increase your need for financial aid. For the first time as well, we will offer income adjustment requests for students who only apply for and receive the CCPG.

EMERGENCY SEOG: Our emergency SEOG fund has been exhausted, but we are pleased to have awarded over $500,000 to needy students.

HEERF: As part of the CARES Act, the FC FA Office is administering the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.  So far, we have awarded over 1,200 students $500 grants, and will continue to do so until funds are exhausted.  We will be awarding and disbursing a total of nearly $5 million dollars.  Please check your email for more information on how to apply.