Financial Aid

What is Financial Aid?

Financial aid is a combination of grants, scholarships (money you don’t have to pay back), and loans (money you do have to pay back). In order to receive financial aid, you must first complete the FAFSA.

What is the FAFSA?

FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid: www.fafsa.gov

  • This form is completed after October 1st and each school has its own priority filing date.

  • Be sure to check each college’s financial aid page for their priority filing dates (usually between February – March).

  • In order to remain eligible for the ACCE program, you must submit your FAFSA to NRCC by February 15.

    • All “To-Do List” items must be complete and submitted to NRCC by March 15 (if applicable)

  • Even if you think you will not qualify for aid based on parental income, many colleges require the FAFSA to initiate the scholarship process.

  • Colleges strongly recommend that both parents and students USE the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which allows your financial information to be transferred directly from the IRS website onto your FAFSA (this is available within the FAFSA application).

  • When completing the FAFSA, the student will list all schools to which he/she plans to apply. Each school must receive the FAFSA before it generates an award letter, which details the amount of financial support the college is able to provide the student for the upcoming year (this is usually a combination of grants, loans, and scholarships).

  • Many schools offer scholarships based on merit, honors, or programs of study. Application deadlines may be earlier than the regular application deadline – check each college’s admissions and financial aid websites for this information.

  • If you qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch (even if you don’t use it), you should also qualify for Pell Grant money. You do not have to pay back Pell money (it is a grant), and typically covers approximately $5,000 toward tuition, room/board, books, etc.

    • Students can choose the institution to which they apply this money

    • A full Pell grant usually covers the ENTIRE cost of tuition and books at a community college

How do I complete the FAFSA?

Before beginning the FAFSA, students AND parents need to create an FSA ID: https://fsaid.ed.gov

  • The FSA ID is a username and password that will allow you to access and sign your FAFSA.

  • Both the student AND parent MUST create an FSA ID before being allowed to begin the FAFSA.

    • The FAFSA website will prompt you to create the FSA ID before beginning your FAFSA

You should have the following information and documents with you as you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) :

  • All relevant financial and tax information from 2021 for BOTH parent AND student

  • Social Security Number (for both student and parent) – it is important that you enter it correctly

  • Your driver’s license number (if you have one)

  • 2020 tax returns including IRS W-2 information for the student, parent, and spouse (if married)

  • Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans non-education benefits for the student, parent, and spouse (if married)

  • Information on cash, savings, and checking account balances; investments (including stocks and bonds and real estate but NOT including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets

  • Your Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

Scholarships and Other Great Information

  • See the RHS School Counseling website at this link for current information about scholarships, scholarship search engines, and more