Financial Aid FAQ
ABOUT FINANCIAL AID
Financial aid is money to help students pay for their education. Awards are made available from grants, scholarships, loans, and South Carolina Lottery Tuition Assistance from federal, state, institutional, and private sources. Almost all financial aid is awarded in the form of an "award package" to meet the cost of education. Packages can be composed of grants, scholarships, federal loans and work study programs. Financial need, available funds, student classification, academic performance, and sometimes the timeliness of the financial aid application determine the types and amounts of aid awarded.
A Financial Aid Offer is how a college notifies the student of his/her financial aid options. The Offer Letter lists the types and amounts of financial aid the student is eligible for.
You can access your Financial Aid Offer through Self-Service > Financial Aid (login required).
When you receive your Financial Aid Offer, if you are enrolled in courses, compare your offer to your account summary’s ‘total amount currently due’. If you have not yet enrolled, view the college's tuition and fees for the semester in which you are seeking enrollment. This will give you an idea of what to expect.
Please be aware your Financial Aid Offer lists aid amounts assuming full-time enrollment. Amounts will adjust based on the number of hours enrolled.
The FAFSA process will tell you. Even if you do make too much for need-based grants, you may still be eligible for a student loan and/or South Carolina Lottery Tuition Assistance.
Yes. Students must file FAFSA for each award year.
Timing is important. The latest FAFSA should be submitted is three months prior to the academic term for which aid is requested. The award year for financial aid begins in the fall, and ends the following summer, and a FAFSA needs to be completed or renewed each financial aid year. Some types of financial aid have limited funds, and earlier applications have an advantage. Some grants and scholarships have a specific deadline for applying, which is indicated in each program description.
FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA is the federal application that must be completed to receive all federal aid, South Carolina Lottery, and some scholarships. The application may be completed online at www.fafsa.gov. You will have your FAFSA results sent to GTC by entering our college code (#003991) when prompted online.
Students can make corrections after receiving the Student Aid Report (SAR):
- Go online to www.fafsa.gov, log in, make changes, and re-submit.
- Visit the Financial Aid office, and speak with a Financial Aid Advisor.
SUBMISSION DATES
Although GTC does not have a strict FAFSA submission deadline, we do have a submission request date. This means that students who submit their FAFSA by the given date will have adequate time for their aid being calculated and award letter generated when compared to students who do not meet the submission request date. These are the dates by which you need to have received your financial aid award letter before the payment deadline.
The dates for each semester are:
- Fall - May 1
- Spring - October 1
- Summer - February 1
FINANCIAL AID TERMS
Per the Consolidated Appropriations Act and effective with the 2012-2013 award year, Pell LEU is a provision that limits the duration of a student’s eligibility to receive a Federal Pell Grant to the equivalent of 12-full-time (12 credit hours or more) semesters.
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 (or 12 full-time semesters) of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.
A formula established by the U. S. Congress calculates the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) or what the family can contribute to education. Greenville Technical College determines the student's financial aid eligibility based on the results of this formula. The formula takes into account the family's income, assets, number of family members, and number in the household attending college at least half-time. The EFC is based on income from the prior year of enrollment. For example, for the 2017-2018 academic year, the student's (and parents', if required) 2015 income is considered when calculating the contribution.
Students who fail to meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined in the college catalog and student handbook have the option of submitting an appeal.
A student may only submit two appeals during their time at Greenville Technical College.- SAP Appeal: For students who become ineligible due to GPA, completion rate, or maximum time frame:
Students who become Ineligible for financial aid may have the option to submit a SAP Appeal. To qualify, students must be able to document extenuating circumstances for each semester where they did not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress. Documentation must be from a third party entity, and is submitted with the SAP appeal form. To determine whether a student qualifies to submit the SAP Appeal, they can visit the Office of Financial Aid.
A Student Aid Report (SAR) is a document the student receives after the FAFSA has been processed by the U.S. Department of Education. The SAR will list all of the answers provided on the FAFSA. The SAR will contain an individual's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is used to determine eligibility for federal student aid. The institution will use this number to determine eligibility for financial aid based on the school's cost of attendance.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) measures completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. SAP is required by all federal aid programs to ensure that students who are receiving aid are making measurable progress toward completion of a degree, diploma or certificate program within a reasonable time frame. Federal regulations require us to monitor your progress. If you fall behind in completion of classes or fail to achieve GPA standards you may lose eligibility for federal and state aid.
Performance is measured in the following areas:
- Completion Rate: financial aid recipients are required to complete at least two-thirds of the credit hours attempted.
- Cumulative GPA: financial aid recipients must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. (Students may receive SC Lottery Tuition Assistance if they maintain a term GPA of 2.0 on the first 23 hours attempted, but must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 for 24 or more hours attempted.)
- Length of eligibility (150% rule): financial aid recipients must complete their program of study without having attempted more that 150% of the credit hours required to complete curriculum. This limit includes transfer credit earned.
The U.S. Department of Education requires a college's financial aid office to verify the accuracy of FAFSA data. A student may be asked to submit documents, such as a federal income tax return transcript W-2's, or proof of identity to the financial aid office before student gets aid. If the requested documents are not provided, it may mean cancellation of financial aid. Aid will be delayed until documents have been received and processed. All requested documents MUST be turned in together! To avoid delays, we ask that you submit a all requested items by the following dates:
- Fall - June 1
- Spring - November 1
- Summer - March 1
SOURCES OF AID
Entrance loan counseling provides the student with information to ensure that you understand the responsibilities and obligations you are assuming with student loans. It also includes information about how to manage your student loans, both during and after college. This is required for all first-time borrowers at Greenville Technical College and must be completed before loans are certified with the lender.
Although there are many reasons why a loan has not processed, the most common reasons are:
- student is not enrolled at least half time (6 credit hours)
- no proof of high school or GED on file with the Office of Admissions
- student has not signed the Master Promissory Note
- student fails to provide all required verification documents to the financial aid office
- student has loans pending at another college
South Carolina Lottery Tuition Assistance (SCLTA) is available for eligible students enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester. Lottery will pay a specified amount per credit hour of tuition not covered by other grants such as Pell Grant, FSEOG grant etc. Lottery applies to tuition only and therefore cannot be used to purchase books or act as a refund to the student. Lottery also cannot be used to cover lab fees, pass-thru fees, or other miscellaneous non-tuition charges. The maximum award may change each term.
OTHER QUESTIONS
- You may repeat a course ONCE if you have previously passed the course or earned a grade of D or better.
- If you have not passed the course previously, you can take the course again and receive federal funds as long as you are making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and are in good standing with the Office of Financial Aid.
* Please note, transfer credits count as an attempt.
When I tried to register online, it said I have a flag or a hold on my account. What does that mean?
It is always best to contact the financial aid office PRIOR to withdrawing. Some examples of what withdrawing from a class may do
- If you receive any federal aid and withdraw from all classes, you may have to pay a prorated amount of federal funds back immediately. The amount you must return depends on when you withdrew.
- Withdrawing from a class can also affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress, which requires you complete 2/3 of your classes to remain in good standing.
- If you are supposed to receive loans and withdrawing from a class puts you below half-time enrollment, your loan disbursement may be affected.
Excess funds/Refunds (amount of your aid that is left after tuition, fees, books, and supplies have been deducted) are mailed to the student address on file 35 to 45 business days after the first day of class.
You may also choose to have your financial aid refund deposited directly to your bank account. If so, you must sign up for direct deposit during the first 2 weeks of the full semester by accessing the Financial Information tab in the WebAdvisor menu in GTC4me.
The Business Office processes refunds weekly, and will have all refunds processed within 15 calendar days of funds being credited to your account.