Financial aid is money that students may use to help cover the cost of their education that is made available by federal and state governments, as well as public and private organizations in the form of grants, fee waivers, part-time employment, loans, and scholarships. The funds are available to make it possible for students to continue their education beyond high school, even if they and their families cannot meet the full cost of attending college. The basis for such assistance is the belief that the students (and their contributors) have the primary responsibility for meeting their educational costs. 

Financial aid such as grants, fee waivers, work study, and scholarships are forms of aid that do not need to be paid back under the condition that the student retains their eligibility throughout the semester.  

Loans are a form of financial aid available for students that need to be repaid and accrue interest over time. We recommend students to exhaust all free financial aid options before considering a loan. Loan Guide link.

Most importantly, apply early to avoid the financial aid application processing rush. We highly recommend that you keep a copy of all the documents used to complete the financial aid application, such as tax returns, W-2s, permanent residency, etc. The Financial Aid Office may request that you prove (verify) any information that you and/or your contributors reported on your financial aid application.

Delays in the processing of financial aid can be avoided by accurately completing the initial application.  

In addition, regularly check your student email and respond to your campus correspondence.

Financial Aid disbursements are electronically delivered via the MyLACCD Card process. In order to activate your MyLACCD Card, it is important that the mailing address in the Admissions Office is up to date. Students must first receive an Award Notification from the Financial Aid Office before they can expect to receive disbursements. Federal Pell Grants are typically paid twice a semester. Other grants, scholarships, and loans are typically paid once a semester. Work-Study earnings are paid every two weeks. Financial aid recipients may also request to have their funds electronically transferred to their savings or checking bank accounts as an option through the refund selection process. Visit BankMobile Refund Choices for more information. 

If you have not created a BankMobile account and need to select your refund preference, you can visit BankMobile Refund Selection and request a code to set up your account. You must provide your student email address, student ID number, and the school's name (Los Angeles Community College District). 

The status of your financial aid application is available on the SIS student portal. Specifically, you will be able to check the status of your financial aid application, including missing documents, financial aid appeals, financial aid awards, fee waiver status, academic status, etc. 

Yes. A separate financial aid application must be completed for each academic year. Financial aid applications from prior years may not be used to apply for aid for the current year. A good habit to have is remembering that on October 1st of any particular year you should begin completing a new application for the upcoming Fall semester. Check the important deadline page for more detailed information.

No. The financial aid application covers the entire academic year for which it was done. If you have already completed an application for the Fall semester, it will automatically be applied to the Winter, Spring, and Summer semesters for that same academic year.

No. Under normal circumstances you will receive financial aid retroactively for any semesters for which you had enrolled and completed units within the same academic year for which you are applying for financial aid. All financial aid requirements must be met. Please go to Maintain Your Eligibility for information on financial aid eligibility.

It depends. Per Department of Education regulations, being independent or dependent for financial aid is not determined by whether you live with or receive support from your contributor(s). On step three of the FAFSA/CADAA, there are questions that will determine if you must include their information. You can view these questions at Dependency Status. If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, then you are considered independent. If you answer "no" to all the questions, then you must provide your contributor(s) information even if you don't live with or receive support from them.

If both the student and contributor(s) are U.S. citizens, yet the contributors live and work abroad, both the student and contributor(s) can get an FSA ID and sign the financial aid application electronically. When reporting assets on the financial aid applications, families living abroad with assets in another currency will need to convert those amounts to U.S. dollars before reporting them. 

If the contributor(s) are not U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, they still need to fill out the financial aid applications. If they live abroad, they can report their income and asset information in the same way as described above.