| How is my eligibility determined?
There
are four basic steps used to determine how much financial aid you may
receive. These steps are: STEP
1 Expected family contribution is the amount of money you (and your family, if you are dependent) can realistically be expected to contribute toward your educational costs while you are in school. It is calculated from the FAFSA you submit to the Federal processor. The calculation to determine your individual family contribution is based on the financial and other information you supply for you and your family. This contribution is subtracted from your student budget when determining the amount of your award. If you are considered an Independent Student, only your information (and your spouse’s, if you are married) is used to calculate the expected family contribution. If you are a Dependent Student, yours and your parents’ income information is also used. You are considered an Independent Student if any one of the following applies to you:
You are considered a Dependent Student and must supply information about your parents on your FAFSA if NONE of the conditions above apply to you. STEP
2 A standard student budget is
constructed for all financial aid recipients, which includes the average
costs associated with attending Diablo Valley College. The Financial
Aid Office, using surveyed information provided by the California Student
Aid Commission and the Chancellor’s Office for California Community
Colleges develops average student costs for various categories in the
budgets. Standard student budgets are
constructed recognizing different costs for three categories of students:
self-supporting, not self-supporting, and less than half time. (Less than
half-time budgets are used to determine Federal Pell eligibility only.)
(NOTE: Full-time
non-California residents have an additional $3,720 in tuition added to
their budgets.) BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS
are automatically made to add additional tuition for non-resident students
and additional fees for students when applicable. Students may
request adjustments when they have additional costs for
(non-discretionary) expenses such as child care, uninsured medical or
dental expenses, additional supplies or tools required for their programs
that are in excess of the standard budget allowance, and additional
expenses related to a disability which are not paid for by an outside
funding agency. Documentation is required. STEP
3 When the Financial Aid Office has determined an accurate expected family contribution, it subtracts the family contribution (EFC) from the standard student budget. The result is the amount of financial aid a student is eligible to receive.
STEP
4 Once a student’s financial aid eligibility has been determined, the Financial Aid Office will first include all grant funds that the student is eligible to receive in the award package. If there is remaining need and the student indicated that he/she would accept work, Diablo Valley College will package Federal Work-Study—if funds are available. Federal Stafford Loans will not be packaged for students on Probation. Students requesting loans will need to submit a “Loan Request Form.” Requests will be approved on a case-by-case basis. (See: Diablo Valley College Loan Policy.) Students applying before the “priority deadline” will be given first consideration for FSEOG, Federal Work Study.
|
|
|
