Sierra Vista building, students on campus

What Happens Next

Qualifying for Aid

The financial aid office calculates your eligibility for aid. There are many aid programs available to GCC students although not every student is eligible for every program. You must reapply for each year you need financial aid. You will be able to view the results of your application on your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS), sent to you after your FAFSA or CADAA application is complete. Please review your FSS carefully for errors and omissions. Contact us if you determine you have made an error that needs correcting. We can guide you through the process.

The results of your FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application will be used by the Financial Aid Office to determine your eligibility. Eligibility for financial aid is determined by your Student Aid Index, (SAI),your family size, tax filing status, adjusted gross income and relationship to the Federal Poverty Level, FPL. If you have aid eligibility, you will be offered aid which may come in the form of a combinations of grants, work study, loans, or a fee waiver. Loans are available to most students irrespective of need. See loan section for more details.

Verifying Your Data

You might see a note on your SFAFSA Submission Summary saying you’ve been selected for verification; or GCC may contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected. Verification is the process the federal government uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate. GCC has the authority to contact you for documentation that supports the information you reported.

If you’re selected for verification, don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong. All you need to do is provide the documentation GCC asks for—and be sure to do so by GCC deadlines, or you won’t be able to get financial aid.

When you signed the FAFSA, you gave consent to transmit your tax data, through the Direct Data Exchange with the IRS (DDX), to populate your FAFSA application, even if you did not file taxes. If you made manual changes to your IRS data on your FAFSA, we may ask for documentation to verify those changes.

Your Cost of Attendance

Your college costs include more than registration fees. The financial aid office will help determine your estimated cost of attending GCC for the aid year based on the information we have in your student record. When we build your budget, or cost of attendance, we allow for the following costs: tuition and mandatory fees, housing and food, whether you are living at home or away from home, books and supplies, transportation costs, and a modest personal expense allowance. Your cost of attendance may be adjusted, upon appeal, for other educationally related expenses that you may incur during your academic year. Please see special circumstances for more details. GCC provides a net price calculator that can help you determine your net costs after financial aid is applied to your account. This is a tool only, and your actual financial responsibility to GCC will be determined by the tuition office. View GCC estimated cost of attendance (pdf).

Learn more about Cost of Attendance

Helpful Tool: Net Price Calculator

Aid Offer Notification

Once your financial aid file is complete, including any necessary documents we ask for, an advisor will review your information and calculate the aid you qualify for at GCC. You will be packaged all of the grant and fee waiver you are eligible for up to your calculated need. Loans can be used to cover your remaining costs. Your financial aid offer is also called a financial aid package because it typically contains different types of aid from the many programs we have available. Once this process is done you will receive an Aid Offer Notification via email directing you to MyGCC to review your award.

Students who apply for a Fee Waiver will receive a separate email indicating their eligibility, or they will receive an Aid Award Notification email stating their Fee Waiver eligibility.

Receiving Your Funds

If your financial aid exceeds the amount of outstanding charges, a refund will be generated and a disbursement check issued by the college will be mailed to you.

BankMobile Disbursements
To provide more flexible options for students receiving refunds, GCC has partnered with BankMobile Disbursements to deliver financial aid and other school refunds to GCC students beginning on January 29, 2024. Learn more about BankMobile Disbursements options.

CA College Promise Grant (CCPG, formerly known as BOG Fee Waiver)
This is a waiver of fees, not an actual cash payment that you receive directly. However, students who pay their fees prior to receiving a CCPG will receive a refund from the Tuition Office.

Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Cal Grant, Student Success Completion Grant
Federal and State grant funds are disbursed to you according to the disbursement schedule referred to in your offer notification email. After the first disbursement date of the semester, refunds are issued on a weekly basis for late awards and award adjustments.

Federal Work-Study (FWS)
Federal Work Study is money earned through work. The amount you actually receive will be based on the number of hours you work and your hourly rate of pay. Student jobs, time sheet, payroll, and FWS questions can be answered at Career Services.

Federal Direct Student and Parent PLUS Loans
Once you meet all loan application requirements your information is electronically forwarded to the Department of Education. Then the department will electronically process the loan and send the monies to GCC. After verifying your eligibility to receive funds, the refund will be delivered to you by the Tuition Office.

Scholarship Checks
Scholarships received by outside agencies are mailed to you by the Scholarship Office. Please note that receipt of an outside scholarship may affect your eligibility for other aid.

Real Estate Scholarship Checks
This scholarship's checks are mailed to students by the Financial Aid Office once we receive the necessary state funding each semester. Please note that receipt of an outside scholarship may affect your eligibility for other aid.

Americorps Checks
Submit your Americorps voucher to the Financial Aid Office. The voucher is processed and forwarded to the National Service Trust Corps in Washington, DC. Checks, when received, are mailed to students by the Tuition Office. Please note that receipt of an outside scholarship may affect your eligibility for other aid.

View complete Award and Disbursement policy.

Other Things You Need to Know

If you withdraw from all of your classes before you have completed 60% of the semester, you will be required to repay some or all of the financial aid you have received for that semester. Please see our calendar for important dates.

You must reapply for financial aid each year.

Grants are generally disbursed to you by check. Work-study funds must be earned and are paid according to your hourly rate of pay and the number of hours you work. All CCPG awards are waivers of your enrollment and, in the case of CCPG A, half of your health fees. CCPGs are only disbursed as cash if you have already paid these fees and are eligible for a refund from the College.

Carefully read GCC’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. You may lose eligibility if you do not successfully complete all of your courses, exceed the total number of units allowed for your degree/certificate/transfer program, or your cumulative GPA falls below 2.0.

If your family's financial circumstances change during the year, contact the Financial Aid Office. In some cases we can adjust your application information and you may be eligible for additional funds.

Policies

Understanding your Financial Aid Offer
Understanding your Financial Aid Offer playlist