TCL - About Financial Aid

While the primary responsibility for meeting college costs rests with students and their families, the College recognizes that many individuals cannot assume the full financial burden of a college education. Financial assistance is available to bridge the gap between the costs of education and the student and family's available resources. Financial assistance is available from a variety of federal, state, and private sources. The College participates in the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work Study Program, Veterans Administration, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and Federal Family Educational Loan Programs. The TCL Foundation, Veterans Education Program, South Carolina Need-Based Grant Program, LIFE Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, and the South Carolina Lottery Tuition Assistance Program also provide financial assistance.

Financial assistance awards are used to pay student account balances; any remaining awards will be disbursed according to a schedule provided by the Business Office. Students are responsible for payment of funds owed the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) if financial assistance funds are not received as anticipated.

Students receiving financial assistance are subject to TCL’s registration, refund and credit terms. Refund of tuition, fees or other items purchased with a credit card will be processed as a credit to the card holder’s account.

The FIRST STEP in Applying For Financial Assistance

The first step in applying for federal financial assistance is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The FAFSA must be completed each year after the first day of January.

Federal financial assistance applications (FAFSA’s) are available online in January for the upcoming academic year. The application process may be expedited by completing the application on line at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Attention: Change for 2008-2009 - Paper Applications not available at the Financial Aid Office

For 2008-2009 paper FAFSAs will not be available for schools to order. Students will be able to obtain a paper FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) toll-free at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).  Students may request up to three copies of the paper application and should receive their FAFSAs in 3 to 7 business days.

TCL SCHOOL CODE 009910

New for 2008-2009 is a PDF version of the FAFSA that students can submit for processing.  The PDF version of the FAFSA will be available for download on various Federal Student Aid web sites, such as www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov.  Students can access the PDF, complete the form on the computer or by hand, and mail it to the address provided for processing.  Schools will also be able to access the PDF from our web sites including FSAPubs at www.FSAPubs.org.

Due to the complex federal regulations, forms, and procedures, it is important to submit all required forms. The electronic application processing time is five to seven days. The manual (US Postal Service) processing time is six to eight weeks. To receive the maximum assistance possible, all required forms must be completed accurately and submitted in a timely manner.

Financial Assistance staff is available to assist students with completion of the forms. Students should complete as much of the application as possible prior to arriving and provide the Financial Assistance staff with all required documentation for review.

Assistance is also available at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1.800.433.3243).

Assistance Application – Verification of Information

Students must provide the following items when applying for financial aid:

NOTE: Use TCL’s federal code 009910 when completing financial aid form.

Determining Financial Need

The amount of financial assistance a student receives is determined by the federal government. Factors in determining eligibility for federal financial assistance are:

The student’s financial need must be reviewed by the Financial Assistance Office. Financial need is determined by comparing the cost of attending college (including tuition, books, living expenses, transportation, personal expenses and child care) to the student’s available resources, such as money the student expects to contribute towards his/her education from wages, savings, other income, and parent’s contributions if the student is dependent upon the parent for support.

Expected Family Contribution

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC, the amount of money the government expects the student and the student’s family to contribute toward the cost of education) is calculated by the U.S. Department of Education based on the information reported on the FAFSA.