Financial Aid

Need help understanding the Financial Aid process?

Review the Financial Aid Application Procedures below!

A student who wants to receive financial aid to attend Georgia Highlands College must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA if they wish to apply for all federal financial aid including the HOPE Scholarship. However, if the student is interested ONLY in applying for the HOPE Scholarship, they should only complete the GSFAPPS at www.gacollege411.org PLEASE DO NOT COMPLETE BOTH APPLICATIONS.
You will need to have the previous year's tax returns accessible to complete your FAFSA. An independent student will need their own tax return as well as that of their spouse (if you are married). Dependent students will need both their own tax returns and those of their parents.
When you submit a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Department of Education's Central Processing System (CPS) uses the data to check eligibility through data matches and to calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is used by the Department of Education and Georgia Highlands to determine federal aid eligibility.
Georgia Highlands College Title IV school code is 009507. You must enter this number on your FAFSA for Georgia Highlands to receive your information. If you neglect to enter 009507 on your FAFSA, we have no way of knowing that you have applied for financial aid
After you submit your FAFSA application, the last page will display your confirmation number. If you don't see this confirmation number, your FAFSA has not been submitted.
You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that provides the EFC and advises what to do next. The same information is sent to each school the student listed on the FAFSA, in the form of an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR).
Filing a FAFSA only determines your eligibility and analyzes your need for financial aid and does not directly result in receiving aid. The Georgia Highlands College Office of Student Financial Aid will determine the types of aid and award amounts based on your EFC (derived from FAFSA data) and the cost of attendance (as determined by the school).
You may file your Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) anytime after January 1st. However, some funds are limited and are available on a first come first serve basis so the sooner you file your FAFSA the better. Georgia Highlands deadlines are:

Fall Semester- July 1

Spring Semester-November 1

Summer-March 1

To be considered for need based aid (i.e. SEOG, FWSP) your financial aid file should be complete on or before March 1.

WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL APPLICATIONS FOR FINANCIAL AID AND HAVE A COMPLETE FILE:

You will receive an award letter which states how to review your award information online in SCORE.
IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A LOAN:

You will receive an award letter stating how to review your online award letter in SCORE. Your online award letter in SCORE will have directions on how to accept your student loan.
In addition to accepting your loan online, students are required to complete an Entrance Counseling for Stafford loans if they have not previously received a loan through Georgia Highlands College. Students should refer to the Georgia Highlands Financial Aid website under Student Loans for a link to the online Entrance Counseling.
First time borrowers as well as previous borrowers who have who have chosen different lenders for their Stafford loans must complete a Master Promissory Note. Once you have accepted your loan you should receive a blue postcard in the mail from Georgia Student Finance Commission indicating this requirement.
Once all necessary requirements are met, Georgia Student Finance Commission will guarantee the loan(s) and disburse the funds to Georgia Highlands College. Loan funds will be posted by GHC to your student account. Once all tuition and fees are deducted and if a credit balance remains those funds will be mailed to the student’s address on file with the admissions office.

IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP:

You must Maintain a 3.0 HOPE GPA to receive the scholarship. Checkpoints are every Spring semester and when a student reaches 30, 60, and 90 attempted hours in their course work.
The HOPE Scholarship will cover tuition costs and some book cost.
Students should refer to the Georgia HOPE Scholarship information on the Georgia Student Finance website, http://www.gacollege411.com/
To apply for the HOPE scholarship, please review the HOPE Application procedures on the home page.

Returning Students

Returning students should fill out a renewal FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov each year to receive Financial Aid for the following aid year.
Students eligible for Stafford loan(s) will have to accept the loans each year.
Promissory notes will not be required again unless the student changes lenders.
Stafford Entrance Counseling will not be required if the student received a loan the previous year and completed the counseling at that time.

Transient Students

Students who enroll as a transient student at Georgia Highlands College must inform their home school’s financial aid office so that a letter of Hope Scholarship Eligibility for transient Study can be sent to GHC’s Financial Aid Office.
Students who plan to be transient from GHC to another school must inform our Financial Aid Office that they intend to be transient by completing the HOPE Transient Request form located on our website.