Financial Aid FAQs
Applying for financial aid
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You must first apply to MCC through MCC's online application https://engage.mclennan.edu/apply/.
Then you will apply for financial aid online through https://studentaid.gov. After you have completed the FAFSA, MCC will receive your student aid report and will process it, which can take several weeks. Once it's processed, you will receive an email and be able to review your awards on WebAdvisor.
If you're a veteran, please see our veterans' website for more information about financial benefits.
The earlier the better! It's best to apply early to avoid delays in processing your application and getting your financial aid funds.
To ensure that financial aid is available at the time you need to pay your tuition, complete and submit the FAFSA online and any requested documentation to MCC's Financial Aid Office by these dates:
- Fall semester - June 1
- Spring semester - Nov. 1
- Summer sessions - April 1 (limited aid available)
If you apply after these deadlines, financial aid may not be available when your tuition payment is due, so you must be prepared make other arrangements to pay your tuition and fees, such as the online payment plan available in WebAdvisor.
Yes. If you're planning to take classes consecutive fall, spring and semesters, you only have to apply once for all three terms. If you are starting classes in the spring or summer, you should apply for financial aid by the respective deadlines for those terms.
If you applied for financial aid through the FAFSA the previous academic year, you may be eligible to pre-fill most of the personal and demographic information you provided last year. However, this does not mean that it will take less time to process your financial aid. You should still plan to apply by the deadline dates in order to have your funds in time to pay tuition.
To reapply:
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- Go to the FAFSA website.
- Select "Login"
- Enter your FSA ID and password.
- Select the school year.
Note: If you are eligible to pre-fill your application, you will be asked to provide your PIN.
Course work taken during a minimester is not eligible for federal or state financial aid. If you are taking a minimester course, you will be responsible for full payment of tuition, fees, and any books and supplies.
Financial aid is available during the summer terms but may be limited by annual award maximums and enrollment status from the prior fall and spring semesters. If you did not receive financial aid during the previous spring or fall semester, you must apply for summer financial aid by filling out the FAFSA for the current academic year.
If you did receive financial aid during the fall and/or spring semester, see Year Round (Summer) Pell Grants under the 'Grants' section to see if you have eligibility remaining for the summer terms. If you have questions about summer financial aid, please visit Highlander Central in the Enrollment Services Center.
Getting your financial aid funds
Congratulations on getting through the financial aid application process. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be a daunting task. Now that you have completed that process, the Office of Financial Aid at MCC will evaluate your application and award financial aid in the form of grants, work-study employment, and finally loans. Once this is complete, you will receive an award letter by electronic mail to the e-mail address you provided on your Application for Admission.
Passive Acceptance: The Office of Financial Aid assumes that you want to receive all grant and scholarship programs that were awarded to you, so we do not require that you take any action other than registering for coursework to make the funds available to you (assuming you meet the eligibility requirements when registering, i.e.: eligible program, appropriate number of hours, maintaining satisfactory academic progress, etc.).
Active Acceptance: Since Federal Direct Loan programs require the student to take more steps, the Office of Financial Aid requires that you login to the WebAdvisor student portal and accept the loans you would like to receive. If you do not accept the loans, then they will not be approved and will not be paid to you. You are also required to complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Loan Entrance Counseling, if you have not already done so.
Once your awards have been posted on WebAdvisor, funds from award sources other than work study and outside scholarships will be applied to pay your tuition automatically prior to the payment deadline — as long as you have submitted all required documents, enrolled in courses, cleared all holds, and completed entrance-loan counseling and the Master Promissory Note for Direct Loans. New borrowers under the loan programs will not receive any loan funds until the 30th day of the semester.
You will receive the balance of any remaining financial aid in a refund. The disbursement dates for refunds are published on the Events Calendar.
As long as you have completed entrance loan counseling, your master promissory note (MPN), and accepted your loans in WebAdvisor, you will not be dropped.
You must be enrolled at least half time (6 credit hours per semester) to be eligible to receive loans.
MCC delivers your refund and provides you with your official School ID card with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. For more information, visit this link: http://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoicesid/.
You can withdraw funds from your a BankMobile Vibe checking account from any Allpoint Network ATM; a service fee will not be charged.
Purchasing Books: Books may be purchased at the College Bookstore beginning one week before classes begin and through the first 5 class days. In order to do this, you will need to be sure you have your student ID when you go to the bookstore. You will simply tell the bookstore that you want to use your financial aid to purchase your books. You will be allowed to purchase your books up to your remaining financial aid eligibility (total awards for semester minus tuition and fees). These charges will be automatically deducted from your financial aid balance.
Once your financial aid awards have been posted to your account and you have received your award letter, you will be able to go to the MCC Bookstore during the designated dates and charge your books to your financial aid account.
After the allocated time for charging books to financial aid has passed, you will have to pay with your own funds.
If you are still waiting for your financial aid to process and you need to buy books, you can apply for a short-term book loan in Highlander Central in the Enrollment Services Center.
Keeping your financial aid funds
Payment of Financial Aid Balances: Financial aid that is unused for tuition, fees and books, creates a credit balance in your student account. This credit balance will be paid out to students beginning on approximately the 10th calendar day of the semester. After the initial disbursement, these balances will be paid every Thursday of the semester. NOTE: Federal college Work Study and State Work Study eligibilities require that you be employed in a campus job in order to earn this eligibility. Work Study payrolls are run on a monthly basis, and students are paid according to the method listed below.
Method of Payment: All credit balances are delivered with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. and disbursed to student’s based on their selected refund preference.
Adjusting Awards for Increases/Decreases in Hours Enrolled: The Office of Financial Aid has designated the 4th class day for all semesters/terms as the financial aid census date. The College computer system is set up to automatically adjust award amounts for transmittal based on the enrollment status on the 6th class day. For example, if a student changed his enrollment from 12 hours to six hours during the first four class days, the system would adjust the Pell award from a full-time award to a half-time award, and vice versa.
If you want to receive or continue receiving financial aid, you will need to maintain satisfactory academic progress. This means you must maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and complete 67 percent of the courses you sign up for. You also may not take more than 150 percent of the hours required to complete your degree.
If you do not meet one or more of these requirements, you will be placed on financial aid warning and given one semester to meet the criteria. Failure to do so will cause you to be placed on financial aid suspension and you will be ineligible to receive financial aid funds.
You may file an appeal for reconsideration if you meet certain extenuating circumstances, but you will have to pay tuition and fees or make other payment arrangements while the appeal is being processed or you will be dropped from your classes.
If you are filing an appeal because you’re over the limit on hours for your degree, you must continue to file an appeal each semester until you complete your degree if you want to continue to receive financial aid.
To be eligible to receive federal student aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate. You must meet MCC's standards of satisfactory academic progress.
The best way to get answers about your appeal and the reasons for the denial would be to email financial_aid@mclennan.edu with your specific questions regarding the appeal. You can also send a private message to us on Facebook with your student ID.
If you have registered for classes and applied for financial aid, the Office of Financial Aid will make every effort to get your financial aid processed and available to pay for the registration charges. If you have decided not to attend, please make the effort and drop yourself from your courses. Do not assume that you will be dropped or that if you do not attend classes, you will be dropped. If you are registered and eligible for financial aid, the financial aid will pay for your classes. If you do not drop you may end up owing a significant portion of your financial aid back to the College.
If you have been awarded financial aid and are ready to transfer out to another school, especially if you are transferring in the Spring semester, please request the Office of Financial Aid to cancel any unused awards. This will help to speed up the financial aid process at the new school.