Financial Aid Process Steps

Main Steps with detailed information.

1. Apply for Federal Financial Aid by going to www.studentaid.gov (free application):

  • Apply for your FSA ID.
    • The FSA ID – a user name and password – 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/fsa-id/create-account/launch www.studentaid.gov.  *Important: Only the owner of the FSA ID should create and use the account. Never share your FSA ID!
  • Apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) here: studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. Click on the “Start Here” button. Follow the prompts in the site’s right-hand column through the application’s completion and submission. Calhoun Community College’s School Code is 001013

2. Complete Verification Process (if required):

  • Applicants selected by the Federal Central Processing System for verification must provide requested documentation within 15 days of request and prior to award offers. Click here for verification forms.
    • Failure to provide all documents requested in a timely manner will delay your award offer and financial aid payments

3. Satisfy Requirements, Review and Accept Award Offers:

All student notifications are made via your Calhoun email account. When notified, you may review and satisfy documents online by following these steps:

  • Login to MyCalhoun with student ID and password
  • Click on the ‘Banner Self-Service link’ under the “Launchpad” section to the left of the screen
    **If you only see the Personal Information and Student links or buttons, Calhoun has not received your financial aid file from FAFSA.  Once your FAFSA has been received, you will see an additional link/button for Financial Aid.**
  • Click on the Financial Aid button, then
  • Award box, then
  • Award for Aid Year link
    • Select the correct academic year from the drop-down menu, click submit.  Four tabs will appear across the screen:
      • Award Overview tab:  VIEW ONLY screen:  shows the amount of aid you have been awarded and how it will be made available to you for each semester.
      • Resources and Additional Information tab:  REQUIRES A RESPONSE (takes approximately 3 days to update to satisfied status.)
      • Terms and Conditions tab:  REQUIRES A RESPONSE (updates to satisfied immediately)
      • Accept Award tab:  Accept or Decline student loans by using the drop down menus.

4. Complete Direct Student Loan Steps (if applicable):

  • If a student declines student loans on the Accept Award tab in section 3, no other steps are necessary.
  • If the student accepts student loans, they may also be required to complete Entrance Counseling (EC) [ make a clickable link? https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/ ]  and a Master Promissory Note (MPN) [make clickable link? https://studentaid.gov/mpn/ ]for John C. Calhoun Community College at www.studentloans.gov to activate the loans through the Department of Education.  The Banner will prompt students to complete it if necessary.
  • For more information, please visit the student loan webpage

5. Complete PLUS Loans for Parents (if applicable):

  • Go to the Financial Aid Forms page. Complete the PLUS loan application and submit it to the office.
  • Go to www.studentloans.gov [change to https://studentaid.gov/mpn/ ] to complete the PLUS Master Promissory Note for John C. Calhoun Community College.
    • PLUS loans require an acceptable credit history and can be disbursed to the student per parent authorization. The student must have a FAFSA on file before a PLUS application.

6. Check Student Account for Charges, Authorized Aid, and Refund/Owed Amounts:

Once in the MyCalhoun portal:

  • click on Student link/button, then
  • Student Landing Page link, then
  • Account Detail by Term link,   (NOT the Account Summary by Term link)
  • select term from drop-down menu

Charges, or debits, such as tuition, fees and bookstore charges will display in the top section of the screen.  These show up as a positive number. Students will need to scroll down to see the rest of the information contained on this page.

Middle section details all authorized aid (credits) such as financial aid, scholarships, outside resources paying towards student account balance. If the difference is a positive number, this means student has a remaining balance. If the difference is a negative number, student will be issued a refund.

If you do not have financial aid and need to pay a remaining balance owed by credit or debit card or sign up for the payment plan, CLICK on the PAY NOW button at the top of this screen.  You will not use this button if you have Pell, other grants, scholarships, or loans that are sufficient to cover your tuition.  For more information about the payment plan, details can be accessed at www.MyCollegePaymentPlan.com/calhoun.  IF YOU HAVE AID AUTHORIZED TO COVER YOUR TUITION AND BOOK CHARGES, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO MAKE THE AID MOVE OVER TO PAY AS THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC PROCESS.

At the bottom of the Account Detail by Term page is a Statement History link that can be accessed once your refund has been processed. This page will show dates as to when money was moved over to pay and/or refunded back to credit/debit cards if you pre-paid before aid was available.

7. Get your Refund:

To get your Pell Grant, Student Loan, SEOG and Alabama Student Assistant Grant refund, you must select a refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. For more information about BankMobile Disbursements, visit this link: http://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoices/.

The College/BankMobile Disbursements will no longer issue printed refund checks.

8. Get Books for Class:

  • You may use the on campus bookstore charge procedures to apply books and supplies to your financial aid account. Details of the book charge procedures are available in the course schedule.

9. Class Attendance:

  • Financial aid disbursements require documented attendance from each course instructor.
    • Be sure to review the course syllabus and complete attendance and/or participation requirements for each course during the first week of the semester to ensure timely aid disbursements.
    • Financial aid awards may be reduced for non-attendance during the first week of class.
    • Student must attend the first day of class to be counted as attending.