Financial Aid Eligibility

Student Eligibility

Students applying for federal and state financial aid programs must meet the following general requirements:

An eligible non-citizen is a U.S. permanent resident who has documentation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) verifying permanent residency in the United States. Acceptable documentation for U.S. Citizen includes:

  • Certificate of Citizenship
  • Certificate of Naturalization
  • Certificate of Birth Abroad (Form FS-454, DS-1350, or FS-240)
  • U.S. Passport

Acceptable documentation for permanent residents includes:

  • Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551)
  • Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151)
  • Foreign passport (Must be stamped; Processed for I-551 with an expiration date)
  • I-94 (Must be stamped; Processed for I-551 with an expiration date, or Temporary Form I-551 with appropriate information filled in), Arrival-Departure Record Form I-94 (Must be stamped as a Refugee, Asylum Status, Conditional Entrant before April 1, 1980, Parolee, Cuban-Haitian Entrant)

Be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible Certificate, Associates, or Transfer Program. Contact your counselor to evaluate if you have a valid academic program and educational goal on record. Refer to this link for a list of financial aid eligible academic programs

Students must meet one of the following criteria:

  1. Be a high school graduate from either a US or foreign high school;
  2. Have passed a high school proficiency examination;
  3. Have passed the General Education Development (GED) test;
  4. Consult with the financial aid office to evaluate if you meet other eligibility criteria

Students must make satisfactory academic progress in a course of study leading to an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree, Certificate, or transfer to a baccalaureate degree program.

Students must not currently be in default on any student loans such as Federal Perkins loan, Federal Stafford loan, or Federal Direct loan at any previously attended colleges or universities.

Students must demonstrate financial need, which is determined by the applicant's Cost of Attendance minus the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on the financial aid application.

Students must not owe a refund or repayment on a Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), or Cal Grant programs.

Students must have a valid social security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau).