Financial Aid FAQs
The first step is completing the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA), which is available online. A student must apply every year beginning October 1st for the upcoming fall term. CCCC's school code is 005449.
Students planning on attending Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025 terms need to complete a 2024-2025 FAFSA.
Contact FAFSA online. If you need in-person assistance, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Financial need is determined by subtracting the amount a student/family is expected to pay toward the cost (SAI-Student Aid Index previously known as EFC-Expected Family Contribution) from the annual cost of attendance. A student with the highest need will be eligible for a greater percentage of financial aid assistance. The SAI is used to determine aid eligibility and, unlike the EFC, the SAI may be a negative number down to -1500. The SAI will be used to calculate need-based financial aid
Students can check the status of their financial aid through Self-Service. Review missing documents and your award letter under the Financial Aid Counseling tab.
The Financial Aid Office at Central Carolina Community College will adjust awards each semester, as required, based on the student's enrollment status as of the student's "Financial Aid Freeze Date" for his/her first session of that semester. This is the date we take a "snapshot" of students' enrollment status to establish the "official enrollment status" for reporting purposes and financial aid eligibility. At this point, if actual attendance is less than full-time (ex. half-time), awards will be adjusted accordingly.
For example, if the student is registered full-time (12 credits) at the beginning of the term and dropped 3 credits before the financial aid "Freeze" date, aid is adjusted to reflect 9 credit hours (12 credits minus 3 credits dropped). Credits added after the "Freeze" date cannot be used to increase financial aid award eligibility.
Note: Students who receive a financial aid award after the "award by" date for their registered session will be paid on a rolling basis. For example: if you are enrolled in classes for the full 16 or 1st 8-week term and are awarded after February 14th, your disbursement will occur on subsequent dates. Please contact the Financial Aid Office to confirm the subsequent disbursement date if this situation pertains to you.
Federal and state grants will be based on the students' "frozen" enrollment status as of the financial aid "Freeze" (census) date for the student's initial term session. Federal and state financial aid will be prorated based on enrollment.
Note: Students enrolled for less than 6 credits are not eligible to receive certain state and federal grants.
Refunds are processed throughout the semester based on the 10% point (census date) of each enrolled course. Attendance must be verified in each course prior to disbursement. Stay up-to-date on the Financial Aid disbursement schedule.
CCCC offers E-Checks. To receive your refund via ACH/Direct Deposit, log on to your Self Service and Select Student Finance, Banking Information and Add an Account. Once you have entered and submitted the information. Your account will show as "Not Verified". Once CCCC imports your information, your account will show as "Verified". There is no need to contact CCCC to get your information verified. All updates and corrections to your information must be completed through your Self-Service. For more information, contact the Business Office at (919) 718-7517.
Federal regulations require that students maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to be eligible for financial aid. CCCC requires students to maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA and 67% completion rate. Failure to complete courses (Withdraw, Withdraw Fail, "F" grade, and Incomplete) or failing courses (W, WF) will affect a student's SAP status.
When changes occur, a student should contact the Financial Aid Office to complete the necessary forms to ensure that your financial aid status is re-evaluated.
The Federal Pell Grant program allows an eligible student to receive up to 150 percent of the student's Federal Pell Grant scheduled award. This is known as "Year-Round Pell." Year-Round Pell benefits a student that was enrolled full-time in the fall and spring terms and allows them to receive up to an additional full Federal Pell Grant for the summer. Students may take advantage of this new regulation to earn their degree faster.
Previously, a Pell Grant-eligible student must have been enrolled at least half-time in a payment period during which they received more than 100% of their scheduled award. Beginning 2024-2025, year-round Pell no longer requires half-time enrollment if you were previously enrolled full-time in the fall and spring semesters.
Verification is a process used to check the accuracy of the information that a student has given when applying for federal financial aid. If during the verification process it is determined that inaccurate information was in fact provided to the federal government, corrections may be necessary.
Beginning with 2024-25, all persons on the FAFSA must provide consent for the U.S. Department of Education to receive tax information or confirmation of non-filing status directly from the IRS. In a very small number of cases, students and families will have to enter their tax data manually, but for most, that data will be automatically transferred into the application. This change makes it easier to complete the FAFSA and reduces the number of questions to be answered.
Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimate of the combined costs of direct and indirect educational expenses. It takes into account your basic living expenses, such as: housing, transportation, etc. Students are not allowed to receive aid that exceeds their cost of attendance. Use the Net Price Calculator for help
Unusual Enrollment History (UEH) refers to the circumstance where a student has enrolled at multiple institutions and received federal grant and/or student loan funding at those schools, all within a relatively short period of time, and is now attempting to receive additional aid.
The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by federal law to be the equivalent of six years of funding. Since the maximum amount of Federal Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%. Once you hit this limit, regardless of your income, EFC, or other eligibility factors, you will have lost the ability to receive the Federal Pell Grant.
Return to Title IV or R2T4 is a federal regulation which governs how much aid a student earns for a given term. For example, if a student completes 60 percent or more of a term/payment period or 49 percent of a module, the student earns all eligible aid during that term/payment period, and a Return to Title IV calculation is not required. If a student unofficially withdraws before 60 percent of the term/payment period or 49 percent of a module, and fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course offered over an entire period, then that student is considered to have unofficially withdrawn. If a student officially withdraws, then this institution will use that date to determine the refund calculation and the amount of aid earned. If the student is considered to unofficially withdraw from the term/payment period, then this institution will use the midpoint of the term/payment period to determine the amount of aid earned.
Students receiving state grants must meet 35 percent of the term/payment period to be eligible for their state grants.
When changes occur you should contact the Financial Aid Office to complete the necessary forms to ensure that your financial aid status is re-evaluated.
Federal Pell Grant is awarded for the fall and spring semesters. The Federal Pell award is based on full-time enrollment. If you do not enroll for full-time status, your Federal Pell grant will be adjusted accordingly. If you do not attend full-time fall and/or spring semester, your remaining Federal Pell amount will be moved to the summer semester.
The Federal Pell Grant program allows an eligible student to receive up to 150 percent of the student's Federal Pell Grant scheduled award. This is known as "Year-Round Pell." Beginning 2024-2025, year-round Pell no longer requires half-time enrollment if you were previously enrolled full-time in the fall and spring semesters.
To be eligible for assistance you need to be admitted and enrolled in an approved curriculum major. Students enrolled as a special student (no major declared) or continuing education students are not eligible. Federal Pell grants are available for part-time students. The amount of grant funding is adjusted depending on the credit hours taken.
Financial need is determined by subtracting the amount that you or your family is expected to pay toward the cost (SAI) from the annual cost of your attendance (COA). Need-based awards include, but are not limited to: the Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, Federal Work Study, and state grants. The greater the difference between a student’s COA and their SAI, the more room they will have for need-based aid. Each college/university sets its own COA based on its tuition costs etc., while SAI is determined by FAFSA information.
SAI is a measurement of your family's financial strength and is used to determine your eligibility for need-based aid. You receive an SAI based on the processing results of your FAFSA. Your SAI can be found on your confirmation page once your FAFSA is submitted or on your FAFSA Submission Summary, or online.