Financial Aid Office

Oceanside, Building 3000: 760.795.6711

www.miracosta.edu/financialaid

Financial aid includes a variety of federal and state programs designed to provide students access to an education. Financial aid is not designed to provide total cost-of-living and educational support; instead, it is intended to bridge the gap between educational costs and available resources.

An application can take 6 to 12 weeks to be processed, so the office recommends applying early. Due to this processing time, students should be prepared to pay their initial school expenses.

Financial aid programs available at MiraCosta include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), Federal Work-Study, and Direct Loans. State programs include the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, the Board of Governors Fee Waiver that assists with enrollment fees, Cal Grant B or C, and the Chafee Grant, which is designed specifically for foster youth.

Students should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) electronically at www.fafsa.gov to ensure output from the application reaches the Financial Aid Office while the student is still enrolled in school. To be considered for a Cal Grant, students must file the FAFSA by March 2 of each year, preceding the school year. Students who wish to borrow under the Direct Loan (subsidized) must complete their file, including all necessary documentation, no later than mid-April of the appropriate school year.

An application for the Board of Governors Fee Waiver is available at the Financial Aid office, at Admissions and Records offices, and on the Financial Aid website.

To qualify for federal aid, the applicant must

1. Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States
2. Possess a high school diploma (or its equivalent) or be at least 18 years of age and able to demonstrate an ability to benefit from college-level instruction
3. Be enrolled in an eligible program leading to a certificate, a degree, or transfer
4. Maintain financial aid satisfactory academic progress (defined below)
5. Not be in default on a federal student loan or owe a repayment of federal grant funds.

Students enrolled less than half-time are not eligible for student loan programs, FSEOG, ACG, or Federal Work Study.

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

In order to remain eligible for financial aid, students must successfully complete 75 percent of the units in which they enrolled (as determined by enrollment status: half-time, full-time, etc.) and maintain a cumulative "C" average (2.0 grade point average). Once a student completes 67.5 attempted units, his or her financial aid eligibility at MiraCosta is determined based upon his or her Maximum Time Frame appeal. The full Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress and Appeals policy is available on the Financial Aid website.

Refunds

Students who receive federal financial aid funds and who totally withdraw before the 60 percent date of the semester require a refund and repayment calculation to determine funds owed back to the various federal aid programs by both the school and the student. Unofficial withdrawals (grades of all Fs and/or Ws) also require a refund and repayment calculation. Refunds of the federal aid programs are made according to the formula established by the U.S. Department of Education. Additional information is available in the Financial Aid Office.

Ineligible Programs/Courses for Federal Financial Aid

Eligible programs must be a minimum of 15 weeks in length and require at least 16 semester units. When used as the major for an associate degree, a program that is not eligible as a certificate program may be eligible as a degree program. (Certificate programs are described under Areas of Study & Courses.)

Any pre-collegiate courses taken to meet high school requirements are ineligible, even if they can also be used toward a degree program.

Audited Classes and Credit by Exam: Courses taken in this manner cannot be considered in determining financial aid eligibility.

Repeated Courses: Repeated course work for which a grade of A, B, C, D, or P (Pass) has already been earned cannot be considered in determining financial aid eligibility unless the course has been designated as repeatable. (Repeatable courses are identified in the course descriptions.)

Remedial Course Work: Once a student has attempted 30 units of remedial course work (whether successfully completed or not), no additional remedial courses can be included when determining enrollment status for federal financial aid programs.