Financial Aid

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There are two main types of financial aid: 1) Gift Aid and 2) Self-Help Aid.

Gift Aid consists of grants and scholarships. This gift money usually does not have to be repaid as long as the requirements placed on the student are met.

Self-Help Aid includes loans and work-study. Students are responsible for repaying funds borrowed via a loan. Sampson Community College does not participate in the Federal Student Loan Program. Federal work-study provides part-time jobs for student with financial need, allowing them to work for wages through a campus-designated position.

There is no charge to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

*Beware of sites that ask you for payment to complete the FAFSA.

• Your Social Security number or Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
• Parent’s Social Security number (if you are dependent)
• Drivers license number (if you have one)
• Federal tax information or tax returns for the prior-prior year – including W-2 information for yourself, your spouse (if married) and your parents (if you are dependent). For example, if you are completing the 2023-2024 FAFSA, you will be asked for 2021 tax information.
• Records of untaxed income for the prior-prior year. For example, if you are completing the 2023-2024 FAFSA, you will be asked for 2021 income data.
• Information on your savings, investments, and business and farm assets, and for your parent(s) if you are dependent

• Be under the age of 24
• Never married
• Not have children that you provide more than half of their financial support
• Have both parents still living
• Not have a bachelor’s (4-year) degree
• Not be an orphan or ward of the court at age 18
• Not be a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

If the student meets all of the above, both the student’s information and your parent(s)’ information must be used when applying for aid.

While it is highly recommended that you complete the FAFSA online, students who have limited or no Internet access and face pressing deadlines can choose to complete and submit their FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at (800) 433-3243. This typically takes about half an hour. Students will receive a paper student aid report (SAR) 7–10 days later, which they (and their parents, if appropriate) must sign and return. Because this is not the preferred method to apply for aid, it should be used sparingly and only by those students identified previously.

If students provided an email address, an electronic acknowledgement to the email address should be sent within two weeks after submitting the FAFSA online or after the printed signature page was mailed. If no email address was provided, a Student Aid Report (SAR) will be mailed to the student. Once the student is notified, the student, and parents if required, must review the processed information for accuracy.

Once the Financial Aid Office has received your FAFSA information electronically, you will be notified via mail of your status within 2 weeks. You can also check your status by logging into your SCC Colleague Self-Service account. Students selected for verification will receive a letter listing documents needed and will be asked to submit them to the Financial Aid Office. After documents have been received by our office and when verification has been processed, an offer letter will be mailed to eligible students.

Beginning in the fall, a student can complete their FAFSA application for the following academic year as early as October 1st. Be aware that the SCC Financial Aid Office will not be able to process these applications until the following spring. You will receive a letter from the SCC Financial Aid Office notifying you that we are processing your FAFSA. Federal student aid is offered for one full academic year, beginning in the fall semester. For example. Federal student aid for 2022-2023 is offered for 2022 fall semester, 2023 spring semester and 2023 summer semester. If you are a current student, you’ll need to submit a FAFSA each academic year that you’re attending school and want to see if you’re eligible for financial aid. Even if you don’t think you’ll qualify for any grants or scholarships, you should still submit it just in case.

Please do not fax sensitive information such as tax information, social security numbers, or other personally identifiable information.  The college fax machine is not located in our office; therefore we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of the material.  Instead please mail attention to the Financial Aid Office at PO Box 318, Clinton, NC  28329.

Students should contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center for assistance by:
• Calling 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). If you are hearing impaired call the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913.
• Visit the Help Center to ask a live agent your questions via a web chat by selecting the “Live Help” link.

Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 for a customer service representative to answer any questions.

Also, an Academic Advisor from the Educational Opportunity Centers Program sponsored through Fayetteville State University is available on the Sampson Community College campus several times during the week. A copy of the Academic Advisor’s schedule is available in Student Services located in North Building or call (910) 900-4083 to schedule an appointment.

Currently all Associate Degree and Diploma programs are eligible, but only certain certificate programs meet the eligibility criteria. The certificate programs must contain at least 16 credit hours to be eligible for federal aid.

Once your admissions requirements are complete and your FAFSA has been processed and verified, an offer letter will be mailed specifying your amount and type of financial aid offered. You can also access your offer via your Self-Service Account by using your SCC login credentials.

Tuition, fees, books, and supplies will be automatically deducted from your offer after registration. If you do not have sufficient financial aid funds to cover your expenses, you will be required to pay the balance before the start of the semester. Keep track of your financial aid and charges, by logging into your SCC Colleague Self-Service account.

The US Department of Education will not allow a student to receive financial aid at two schools during the same semester. If a student plans to enroll at another college while attending SCC, the student must pay the tuition, fees, books, and supplies at the visiting college. Then the student must bring the registration form and receipt from the visiting college to the SCC Financial Aid Office. The Director of Financial Aid will submit a consortium agreement to the visiting college to verify enrollment and increase the student’s financial aid eligibility based on the total number of credit hours enrolled.

For most types of federal student aid (with the exception of federal work-study), your student aid disbursements will go directly to SCC to pay for direct school expenses (i.e., tuition, fees, and bookstore charges) first. If there is excess money left over from your financial aid package after your school expenses have been paid, a refund check will be issued to you after the 30% mark of each semester. Checks will be mailed to your current mailing address on file at the college.

In order to receive a Pell refund check, a student must attend all semester classes. Class attendance is verified via drop/withdrawal forms submitted by the instructor(s) and the student. After class attendance has been verified the Financial Aid Office will process a student’s offer based on the total credit hours enrolled at the time of payment.

Financial Aid staff will exert every effort to process your FAFSA prior to the start of the semester even if it was submitted late. All students are encouraged to apply for the FAFSA at least 3-6 weeks prior to the start of the semester as verification and processing can take days, even weeks to be completed.

SCC and financial aid policy require that you maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 and you must pass 67% of the attempted registered credit hours each semester. For more information, see Satisfactory Academic Progress.

The US Department of Education requires all students that receive federal financial aid to complete a minimum of 60% of the semester. Therefore, for students that completely withdraw from all classes or that stop attending all classes will be required to repay a portion of the financial aid funds that he/she received. The college is required to repay a portion of monies on the student’s behalf, and the student also may be required to repay the US Department of Education.

After the Financial Aid Office has received confirmation that a student has withdrawn before the 60% point of the semester, the necessary paperwork is completed and submitted to the Finance Office. The Finance Office places a restriction on the student’s account which prevents the student from registering for an upcoming semester, receiving a transcript, or receiving other services from the College until the total balance is repaid to the College.

For students that owe the US Department of Education a balance in excess of $50, the Financial Aid Office notifies the USDOE, and enters the student’s information in the National Student Loan Database System. Once notified, these agencies place a restriction on the student which prevents the student from receiving financial aid at any college in the United States. Students are also flagged when applying for loans, and will have tax refunds garnished to repay these overpayments.

The application is made available in September of each year. It is open to all individuals who plan to enroll as full-time students at SCC in the following academic year (fall/spring semesters). Only one single application is required to be considered for all the Foundation scholarships. If offered, recipients will be notified via mail in June or as soon as all scholarships have been awarded. Students planning to attend SCC in the fall after high school graduation, should complete the online application during their senior year in high school. Contact your high school guidance counselor for more information. Scholarships for incoming high school graduates will be announced at the respective high school awards programs. Application deadline is April 15th of each year.