Financial Aid & Scholarships FAQs

Students must apply for financial aid by April 1 and submit all documents by May 1 for Fall semester. For Spring/Summer semesters students must apply by October 1 and submit all documents by November 1. In return for meeting the deadline, the College will commit to responding to the student within 10 business days. Log into your MyDTCC or college email account for correspondence.

This does not prevent a student from applying after the deadline. Your financial aid will continue to be processed and you can attend classes. You will be responsible for all charges until your financial aid is processed.

Apply online by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after October 1; you must complete the FAFSA every year that you plan to attend college.

No, the FAFSA is free. Never pay an individual or an organization to help you fill out the FAFSA. You can get free help online or by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (run by the U.S. Department of Education) at 1-800-4FED-AID. Apply online by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

You must create a Federal Student Aid ID (username and password). The FSA ID is used to access certain U.S. Department of Education online documents, such as the FAFSA and the Direct Loan Master Promissory Note. The FSA ID serves as a legal signature and should not be shared with anyone. Only create an FSA ID using your own personal information and for your own exclusive use.

If filing the FAFSA online, the student and one parent, (if the student is dependent) will need an FSA ID to sign the application.

Delaware Technical Community College now has one school code for the FAFSA form 011727. Failure to include the code on the FAFSA when applying will delay the processing of your application.

Yes. You must apply to the College by completing an application for admission.

Yes! There are a few sources of financial aid not based on need such as the unsubsidized Direct Loan. Also many scholarships require the student to complete the FAFSA form to determine eligibility. The FAFSA form is free so there's no reason not to apply.

To be eligible, you must

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Have a valid Social Security number
• Comply with Selective Service registration, if required
• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED®).
• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program at a school that participates in the federal student aid programs
• Not owe a refund on a federal grant, not be in default on a federal student loan, or have satisfactory arrangements made to repay the overpayment or default
• Demonstrate financial need (except for unsubsidized Stafford Loans)

If you are a U.S. citizen, but your parents are not, you are eligible for federal financial aid. On the FAFSA you should enter 000-00-0000 in the parent Social Security number section. Including a fake, stolen, or SSN/TIN that is for work purposes only may cause your application to be rejected.

To be considered an independent student you must be: 24 years of age, an orphan or ward of the court, a veteran of 180 active consecutive days of military service, a graduate student, married, or have legal dependents other than a spouse, emancipated minor, legal guardianship, or unaccompanied homeless youth. If none of the previously mentioned circumstances apply, then the student is required to supply their parent’s income information.

The EFC is the amount students and their families are expected to pay toward college expenses, it is determined by a federal formula, calculated as a result of filing the FAFSA.

Yes! First, you need to report your parents' marital status as "married." Next, your mother and stepfather must both supply their financial information (income from work, investments, etc.) when you complete the FAFSA.

Only the custodial parent (parent with whom you lived most in the last year) is required to supply the necessary financial information. In your situation, you will complete all parent financial aid questions using information about your mother.

It is impossible to give an income cut-off for need-based aid since there are many factors that go into determining it, such as:

• parent and student income
• number in family
• number in college at least half-time - student's siblings enrolled half-time for at least one semester during the academic year would be counted in this number. Parents do not count.
• student assets and parent assets (primary home not counted)

If you are selected for verification, we will ask you and your parents (if dependent) for copies of federal tax information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Those in private business are required to submit all tax forms reported to the Federal government (such as partnership and/or S-Corporation returns), as well as individual income tax information. The review of tax information may take some time and may delay the finalization of financial aid awards. If there are discrepancies between the information you submitted on the FAFSA and the documents submitted, the Financial Aid Office will correct your information electronically with Federal Student Aid.

There are several possibilities:

Some applications are selected randomly by the federal government
Some applications are submitted with incomplete data or conflicting information
Some applications are categorized as having a high probability of error (applications that have estimated tax information).

No two financial aid packages are the same. The application might be chosen by the Feds for verification, in which case, the student is required to submit income tax information and other documents to verify the information on the FAFSA. Financial aid cannot be processed until all this information is submitted. When paperwork is received from a student, it is filed in date order. Because of the substantial volume of verification documents turned in, it could take several weeks after documents are turned in before they are physically reviewed by financial aid personnel.

1. You will either receive an email or mailed confirmation from the federal government, based on what information you provided on your FAFSA, confirming receipt of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
2. You will receive an email or letter from the Financial Aid Office requesting documentation. All students must submit any documents that may be required for awarding.
3. The College will begin the awarding process in April. We encourage you to submit all required documents to the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible, so that your file can be reviewed and awarded.

Students can check their financial aid status by logging into the Student Information System from their MyDTCC account. You will have to click on the Student Services & Financial Aid Link.

No! Most financial aid programs require at least 6 semester credits (half-time status) to receive a payment. Federal Direct Student Loans require 6 semester credits to be eligible. Federal Pell Grant allows some students to receive a payment if enrolled in fewer than 6 credits. Some scholarships may require specific enrollment criteria.

A financial aid package may consist of a combination of grant, scholarship, loan, and federal work study funds. The receipt of these awards is dependent upon the availability of funds, and student eligibility.

Yes. Delaware Tech offers merit and need based institutional scholarships. Students may apply for scholarships by completing an online scholarship application.

If you have subsidized loans you will not be charged interest while you are enrolled in school at least part time, during a grace period, or during authorized periods of deferment. Interest will begin to accrue when you enter repayment. Repayment usually begins within six months after you graduate, leave school or do not enroll at least part time, which is six semester credits. You must demonstrate financial need for this type of loan. If you have unsubsidized loans, you will be charged interest from the day the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full, including in-school, grace and deferment periods. You may chose to pay the interest during these periods or it can be capitalized – that is, the interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan and additional interest will be based on the higher amount. This type of loan is not awarded on the basis of need.

If you have a sufficient financial aid credit balance after tuition and fees are deducted, you may purchase a laptop from our bookstore during the time period when bookstore charges are open. Students may visit the bookstore's Desktops & Laptops web page to view a wide range of options. Please note that it is incumbent upon the student to ensure the purchased device meets minimum technology requirements for courses.

Yes. If your financial aid award exceeds the charges on your account, you may be eligible for a book store credit that can be used in the Delaware Tech bookstore.

• The Financial Aid Office will review your enrollment and other eligibility criteria before awards are disbursed to your student account.
• Your awards may decrease or be cancelled, depending on the review of eligibility.
• If your financial aid is cancelled for any reason, you are responsible for paying all tuition, fees, and book charges you have incurred.
• Once aid is disbursed and all unpaid balances paid, you may have a credit balance on your account.
• The credit balance will be processed and a refund will be disbursed to you via check or electronic transfer.

If you do a complete withdrawal from the college or stop attending classes on or before the 60% point in the semester and you received financial aid for the semester, we must determine how much of the financial aid you “earned” based on the number of days you attended classes. The Financial Aid Office will perform a calculation to determine the amount of aid you have earned.

Course Program of Study (CPoS) is a process to ensure that students are enrolled in courses that apply to their degree program or course of study.

The U.S. Department of Education require institutions to ensure federal financial aid is used to pay for courses that apply to a student's degree program. CPoS is used by Delaware Tech to meet this requirement.

To see if your courses are eligible, check your Degree Works audit. Degree Works is a great way for you to review your program audit to see required courses and courses remaining to complete your program.

Your advisor can also meet with you to map out your program plan.

Start early and be familiar with your Degree Works audit so you can make enrollment adjustments. Your program of study is located on top. You can also use the "What If" feature to check other degrees or certificates that you may be considering. If you are planning on changing your enrollment or program of study, we encourage you to contact your advisor for assistance.

Students who have submitted a FAFSA will be notified by the financial aid office if they are registered in courses that do not apply in their degree program.

Courses that do not count toward the degree or program of study may be viewed on the Financial Aid Portal or Degree Works.

If a student believes a course should count, but doesn’t, they should contact their program advisor. He or she may need to submit a substitution or advise you to replace the course with another course.

Developmental (also called remedial, support or zero level) and ESL courses will be covered under any eligible program.

Electives and other coursework all can count as long as they are required for the program of study.

Note: Developmental courses have a federal limit of 30 credit hours that can be covered.

If the prerequisite is listed as a required course for your program, the course will be eligible.

The student should contact the financial aid office. The course may be a developmental course over the 30-credit limit or a repeat course over the maximum attempts.

Yes, students may take a course that is not required. Just know that the course will not count toward the financial aid enrollment status.

No, only courses that count toward your program at Delaware Tech can be counted for student aid.

Once you make a change, Degree Works will need to update overnight. Then, contact the financial aid office so we can re-evaluate your eligibility. Contacting us will provide you peace of mind and ensure accuracy within your updated audit and financial aid award.

Our office may need to re-evaluate your financial aid eligibility, depending on when the schedule change occurs. We would encourage you to contact the financial aid office prior to making any schedule changes after a semester begins. Schedule changes could affect the amount of aid awarded or disbursed, causing a student to owe a balance.

In most cases, full-time enrollment is not required. Half-time is required for student loans, and half-time, or even less-than-half-time, may be sufficient to receive federal aid.

Full-time = 12 hours or more, Three-Quarter-time = 9-11 hours, Half-time = 6-8 hours, Less-than-half-time = <6 hours

Once a student graduates with a degree, they will no longer receive financial aid under that program of study. The student will need to be admitted into another program to receive aid for the coursework associated with that program. If there is no program to enter into immediately, the student may become a non-degree seeking student and pay out-of-pocket for the courses they wish to enroll.