HOW DOES THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AID CONTACT ME?
For most notifications and contact the Office of Financial Aid will send an e-mail to your myChargerNet, or myCN, inbox. It is very important that you check this regularly.
CLICK HERE to learn how to Access myCN.
WHAT ARE THE DEADLINES FOR APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID?
You may apply for financial aid at any time; however, priority dates do exist depending on the type of financial aid you are seeking.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not have a priority deadline, but does offer the suggestion that Tennessee applicants complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1st to be considered for state grants.
A student can complete and submit the FAFSA at any point between January 1st and June 30th of the applicable award year and be considered for Federal funds.
Columbia State Community College has a March 15th priority deadline for its institutional scholarship application.
To help insure that the Office of Financial Aid has sufficient time to award your aid prior to the beginning of a term, please complete and submit all required paperwork before the following financial aid priority processing dates:
FALL SEMESTER – JULY 31st
SPRING SEMESTER – DECEMBER 20th
SUMMER SEMESTER – APRIL 30th
(Note: If any of the above dates fall on a weekend, the priority date is the Monday immediately following.)
If you submit required paperwork after the priority processing dates you may still be awarded financial aid for the applicable term; however, there is no guarantee that aid will be processed in time to avoid payment deadlines established by the Office of Business Services.
If you do not receive financial aid sufficient to cover your tuition and fees prior to the payment deadline for a term, you are required to make payment arrangements with the Office of Business Services. Otherwise, your class schedule for the term will be purged, or dropped from the system.
CLICK HERE for information regarding payment deadlines and other important dates.
WHAT TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID DOES COLUMBIA STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OFFER?
Columbia State Community College participates in most Federal Title IV aid programs, state grant programs and Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship programs. Columbia State Community College also offers a number of institutional scholarships to eligible students who apply prior to the deadline.
CLICK HERE for more information.
WHAT IS VERIFICATION?
The U.S. Department of Education randomly selects students who complete the FAFSA and asks the Office of Financial Aid at the school they attend to verify that the FAFSA information is correct. This process is called Verification.
If selected for verification, you are notified on your Electronic Student Aid Report (ESAR) that is e-mailed to you from U.S. Department of Education.
The Office of Financial Aid will also send an e-mail to your Columbia State e-mail account notifying you if you are selected for verification and explain where you can find the appropriate forms you will need to submit.
For most students a completed verification worksheet, prior year IRS tax transcript and legible copies of all W-2 forms are required to perform verification of your FAFSA data. In some instances additional documentation may be requested.
CLICK HERE to find Columbia State Community College Verification Forms.
(Note: Please do not submit verification paperwork and/or tax information to the Office of Financial Aid unless requested to do so. Otherwise, we are required to verify your information regardless of if you are selected verification or not.)
IF MY FINANCIAL AID IS MORE THAN WHAT I OWE THE SCHOOL, WHERE DOES THAT MONEY GO?
If the amount of financial aid you are receiving for a semester is more than what you owe the college in tuition and fees, the remaining balance will be issued to you by the Office of Business Services in the form of a refund check.
Refund checks are created and released by the Office of Business Services. Checks are held for student pick-up on the Columbia Campus. If you attend the Williamson County Campus you may choose to receive your check there.
You may also register for direct deposit of refunded financial aid amounts. You must have a valid checking account and you may sign-up for this option through myCN.
CLICK HERE for more information.
DOES FINANCIAL AID PAY FOR BOOKS?
If your financial aid for a semester is more than what you owe the college in tuition and fees, you may charge your books at the campus bookstore either on the Columbia Campus or the Williamson County Campus.
CLICK HERE for more information.
IF I TRANSFER TO ANOTHER SCHOOL, DOES MY FINANCIAL AID AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFER?
No. If you transfer to-or-from Columbia State Community College, your financial aid does not automatically transfer with you.
You must first contact the Office of Financial Aid at the school you are currently attending and cancel any pending financial aid for any upcoming terms.
You must then re-apply for Financial Aid at the new school.
Please be aware that the types and amounts of financial aid you currently receive are not guaranteed at the school to which you are transferring. It is a possibility that you may gain or lose financial aid by transferring.
CLICK HERE for more information.
CAN I RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID TO HELP PAY FOR SUMMER CLASSES?
If you have not received your full yearly amounts in Federal Pell grant or Federal Direct Loans by the end of the spring semester, you may be eligible to receive Pell and/or Direct Loan assistance for the summer term.
In order to receive Summer financial aid you must complete a Columbia State Summer Financial Aid Request Form and a Columbia State Summer Direct Loan Request Form.
IS MY FINANCIAL AID AUTOMATICALLY RENEWED EACH YEAR?
No. A renewal of financial aid is not automatic. Students must complete a new FAFSA and complete the financial aid application process prior to the fall semester of each new award year.
WHAT IS SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS?
The U.S. Department of Education requires that students receiving financial aid meet certain requirements to continue to receive assistance. Meeting the requirements is called maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress.
CLICK HERE for more information.