Applying for Financial Aid is a simple process. After you have submitted an application for admissions to San Jac, complete your FAFSA application on the FAFSA website, https://studentaid.gov/. Be sure to use our Federal School Code – 003609. Once your application has been received by San Jac, you might be requested to provide copies of your tax transcripts or other official documents to the Financial Aid Office. If requested, be sure to respond promptly. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid homepage on our website.
Effective May 10, 2015, the FSA ID - a username and password - has replaced the Federal Student Aid PIN and must be used to log in to certain U.S. Department of Education websites. Your FSA ID confirms your identity when you access your financial aid information and electronically sign Federal Student Aid documents. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you can create one when logging in to https://studentaid.gov/, National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), StudentLoans.gov, and StudentAid.gov. For more information on the FSA ID, please click here or visit the FAQs on the Federal Student Aid site here.
You have completed your FAFSA (or financial aid application) and have received an email from the San Jac Financial Aid office. The email should have a statement that says application acknowledgement. We send these emails to let you know that your financial aid application has been downloaded by San Jac from the Department of Education. There is an important section of the email with requirements listed in it. If the requirements box is blank, it means your file will be reviewed for satisfactory academic progress and, if eligible, awarded within the next 5 business days. If your file has been selected for verification, we will list documents we need from you. Please read the list of requirements carefully and provide any documents promptly. Many of the San Jac forms are available for download from our web site at our forms page. If you no longer have your email, you can always log into SOS for a list of requirements we need to continue processing your file.
You have applied for financial aid and submitted your documents to our campus financial aid offices. Now, you have received an email from the San Jac Financial Aid office asking about incomplete documents. It means we have reviewed your financial aid application and have some questions about documents that you’ve already submitted or we might need additional documents submitted. Don’t be alarmed, this is not uncommon. Many of the forms are available for download from our web site at our forms page. Sometimes, we may need more information from you than can be provided in a form. So, please read your email carefully and follow the instructions. If necessary, you may need to call, email, or visit the financial aid office.
Any time you apply for financial aid your file may be selected by the Department of Education for a process called verification. Verification means that San Jac must confirm the accuracy of the information you provided on your FAFSA. This must be completed before any further work can be done with your financial aid award. We may need a tax return from the IRS or other official documents to complete the process. If we send you an email requesting documents, be sure to respond promptly. Many of the San Jac forms are available for download from our web site at our forms page. Please note, if you are submitting documents during peak periods (such as registration) verification processing time on your file may take 3-5 weeks.
If you have submitted documents to the financial aid office to help us complete your file, here is how you can read the statuses in SOS:
- “Received, Not Yet Reviewed” means your document has been received and electronically forwarded to the district office for processing, but it has not yet been reviewed.
- “Satisfied” means that the requirement has been reviewed and satisfied.
- “Incomplete” means something that was submitted is considered incomplete and you need to speak with someone from financial aid about what is still needed.
- “Temporary” means your file has been reviewed and has been sent back to the Department of Education for update in their system.
What is Satisfactory Academic Progress or S-A-P? The Department of Education sets standards we must use to determine if you’re eligible to receive financial aid. SAP is defined by maintaining at least a 2.0 GPA on your San Jac classes, passing at least 75% of all classes attempted (including transfer work), and earning your degree or certificate within 90 attempted hours (including transfer work.) If you have received an email about your Financial Aid Status, please read it carefully or you can log into SOS at any time to review your SAP status.
If for any reason you haven’t met the GPA or pass rate standards, you will be placed on financial aid warning. Think of it as a heads-up, a way of letting you know what you need to do. Even under warning status, you can continue to receive your financial aid. If you’re not in compliance by the end of your warning term, you will be placed on suspension and are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. Also, if you have attempted more than 90 hours (including transfer hours), you have exceeded the maximum time frame to earn a degree or certificate at San Jac and are no longer eligible to receive aid. Even if you are on suspension or max time frame, there are still options for you to regain eligibility through the appeal process. If you have appealed to have your financial aid reinstated and it is approved, you are placed on probation for one term. You are required to meet the conditions stated on your appeal contract without exception. If you do not meet the conditions of your appeal contract, you will be placed back on financial aid suspension. If you completed and met the conditions of the appeal contract during the probation term, but you still aren't making satisfactory academic progress, you will be placed on academic plan. While on academic plan, you must continue to meet the conditions of your appeal contract within a specific point in time as stated on your appeal packet.
Financial Aid appeals are considered for extenuating circumstances such as injury, illness, a death in the immediate family, or undue hardship. If this applies to you, you have the option to submit a written appeal to the Financial Aid Office. Make sure to provide any supporting documentation regarding your special circumstances. If your written appeal is denied, you have the option to request a personal appearance with the appeal committee. If you need to request a personal appearance, only you are allowed to represent yourself to the committee. Please stop in one of our offices and speak with an advisor about the appeal process and appeal deadlines.
To start the financial aid appeal process, please visit or speak with a financial aid representative. Appeals require you to gather important documents and meet with a counselor in the educational planning, counseling, and completion center, so please allow plenty of time to complete the process. If this is your first time to submit an appeal, please check with the campus where you will be submitting your appeal to schedule an appointment. First time appeals are reviewed at the campus and the advisor will let you know the outcome at the end of your meeting. If it is not your first time to submit a financial aid appeal, your packet will be collected and forwarded to the appeal committee for further review. The committee meets once a week during peak periods and every other week throughout the term. You will be notified on their decision by email.
If you are on the first term of an approved financial aid appeal, it means you have been placed on a probation status. You are required to meet the conditions stated on your appeal approval contract without exception. If you do not meet the conditions of the financial aid appeal, you will be placed back on financial aid suspension. Also, the appeal committee or advisor may place additional enrollment restrictions on you. If this is your situation, you will be informed of these requirements. If you complete and meet the conditions of the appeal during the probation term, but you still are not making satisfactory academic progress, you will be placed on Academic Plan for future terms. While on Academic Plan, you must continue to meet the conditions of your appeal within a specific point in time as stated on your appeal packet.
If this is your first time to submit a financial aid appeal and it has been approved, you are required to participate in the Program for Financial Education (PFE). PFE requirements are also stated on your appeal contract. For fall and spring appeals, you are required to meet with the PFE coach in educational planning, counseling, and completion at least twice per term. For summer appeals, you are required to meet with the PFE coach in educational planning, counseling, and completion at least once per term. Also, you will be required to complete five online financial literacy workshops in Blackboard or one campus financial literacy workshop. For summer appeals, you will be required to complete all five online financial literacy workshops in Blackboard (there are no campus financial literacy workshops held in the summer.) More information is available on our Program for Financial Education (PFE) page. If you have any questions or concerns about your PFE requirements, please speak with a campus financial aid representative.
Any Financial Aid available after tuition and fees have been paid will be moved to the bookstore for you to charge books and supplies against. You will need two items to do this: a copy of your class schedule and a photo ID. Your class schedule will help you find the correct books and supplies for your particular class section. Your photo ID is required to confirm your identity. Please allow 48 hours for your funds to be available at the bookstore.
You have the capability to scan and upload your financial aid documents from home or designated scanning stations on all three campuses.
Where are the scanners located on each campus at San Jacinto College?
- Central Campus
- Interactive Learning Center (ILC), Building 1
- Library, Building 21
- Student Development Lab, Building 1
- North Campus
- Interactive Learning Center (ILC), Building 2
- Library, Building 13
- Student Development Lab, Building 6
- South Campus
- Interactive Learning Center (ILC), Building 12
- Library, Building 10
- Student Development Lab, Building 6
Once you are in SOS, please use these instructions to upload your documents.
There are several important dates for financial aid students in the Summer term:
April 30 is the priority processing deadline. This means that any financial aid applications and necessary paperwork must be received by San Jac to guarantee a financial aid award by Summer payment deadlines.
On May 1, Financial Aid will begin authorizing your aid and applying it to your tuition and fee charges.
On May 3, any Financial Aid available after tuition and fees have been paid will be moved to the bookstore for you to charge books and supplies against.
On or before July 1, balance refunds will be issued to your selected refund preference if you are enrolled in summer classes that begin through June 24. If you are enrolled in a class beginning after this date (like July, for example) you can expect your refund after that later class or part of term has begun. Remember financial aid refunds five times over the term, so you may receive the remainder of your refund on or before July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22, and July 29. It depends on your award and enrollment status. Please check your SOS account or speak with a Financial Aid advisor.
There are several important dates for financial aid students in the Fall term:
June 30 is the priority processing deadline. This means that any financial aid applications and necessary paperwork must be received by San Jac to guarantee a financial aid award by Spring payment deadlines.
On July 25, Financial Aid will begin authorizing your aid and applying it to your tuition and fee charges.
On July 31, any Financial Aid available after tuition and fees have been paid will be moved to the bookstore for you to charge books and supplies against.
On or before September 23, balance refunds will be issued to your selected refund preference if you are enrolled in spring classes that begin through September 16. If you are enrolled in a class beginning after this date (like March, for example) you can expect your refund after that later class or part of term has begun. Remember financial aid refunds five times over the term, so you may receive the remainder of your refund on or before October 7, October 21, November 11, and November 25. It depends on your award and enrollment status. Please check your SOS account or speak with a Financial Aid advisor.