Financial Aid

The verification process ensures accuracy and completeness of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. If your financial aid application is selected for verification, you will be notified of next steps by mail and in the To Do List of your MyFVTC Account. Be sure to respond in a timely manner to prevent delays in processing your aid, which could limit the type and amount of aid you are awarded.

Once all the required items have been received, it can take up to four weeks for review of your documentation. Please allow extra time from May through September. 

Get Verification Forms

Use this budget to estimate the cost to attend college based on your living situation and the number of credits you take each semester.

View 2023-24 Cost of Attendance (PDF)

Your actual financial aid award is based on the number of financial aid eligible credits you are enrolled in each term. That calculation occurs on the 10th business day of each term, called the census date. Changes made after this date may impact your financial aid award and a repayment to the college may be required for all or a portion of the funds you received. Because of this, you should try to add and/or drop all classes prior to the census date.

Your financial aid award is based on full-time enrollment prior to the census date. After the census date, your award will be based on the term's fundable credits (courses beginning in 10, 31, 32, 77 & 78). You must be enrolled at least 1/2-time by the census date to receive all types of financial aid funds. If you are enrolled less than full-time, your Pell Grant eligibility may be affected.

*There are some technical diploma programs that are not eligible for full financial aid. For more information, you may review those programs here.

Enrollment Level
Full-time: 12 or more credits
¾ Time: 9-11 credits
½ Time: 6-8 credits
Less than ½ Time: 1-5 credits

If you are also enrolled at another college, you should submit a Consortium Agreement to financial aid so that your financial aid disburses accurately. Shared program students do not need a consortium agreement.

If you are enrolled in an accelerated program, you should register for all of the term's courses by the census date. 

If you are taking Program Prep classes, you are strongly encouraged to take at least one program-related credit in addition to the Program Prep class(es). A maximum of 30 remedial credits are allowed by financial aid.

Audit credits and advanced standing are ineligible and will not be included in your credit status.

Pell Grant Recipients: The Pell Grant is prorated for less than full-time enrollment. It is calculated in direct proportion to the percentage of full-time enrollment, which is considered 12 credits or more. For example, if you are enrolled in 10 credits, you will receive 83% of your full-time Pell Grant amount (10/12 = 83%). The number of credits used in the calculation is based on your enrollment on the 10th business day of each term.

You must maintain satisfactory academic progress to receive federal student aid. The Financial Aid - Satisfactory Academic Progress policy outlines the specifics. The policy also covers the 150% Credit Rule, which explains that financial aid cannot exceed 150% of the credits required for a degree program.

Read the Policy

Sometimes there are special circumstances that are not reflected in your FAFSA application - situations that may affect your family's ability to pay for college. Special circumstances might include things like a job loss or reduction in income, or unusually high out-of-pocket medical expenses. If this is your situation, you can submit a request to have your situation reviewed by our college's director of financial aid, who has the authority to use professional judgment to amend your financial aid application. There is a formal process that begins with the Special Circumstance Request form and will require additional documentation.

Special Circumstance Request

Summer term funding will be awarded automatically in mid-April if you've met the eligibility criteria:

• Accepted in a financial aid eligible program

• Have a completed FAFSA with financial aid eligibility for the summer term

• Enrolled in at least one credit for PELL Grant eligibility and at least six credits for loan eligibility

 If you are eligible for summer term funding, you will be notified by mail and via the Financial Aid section of your MyFVTC Account. You should accept or decline your loan award in your MyFVTC Account. 
 

MyFVTC Account

Don't make these common mistakes when completing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Common Mistakes

Your financial aid application determines the amount of your award eligibility. Here's how it works in financial aid language:

Financial Need is the difference between the estimated cost of your education/living expenses for one academic year (your Cost of Attendance) and the amount that you and/or your family are expected to contribute toward your educational expenses (your SAI – Student Aid Index).

Financial Need = Cost of Attendance – Student Aid Index

If you are awarded Subsidized Loans, the government pays the interest while you're in school, then you pick up the interest payment when you start your principal loan repayment when you are done with school or are attending less than half-time.

If you're awarded Unsubsidized Loans, the interest accrues while you're in school and you can choose to pay it while you're attending college or defer it until you start paying the principal loan repayment. Because the interest is accruing while you're in school, the total long-term cost of unsubsidized loans is greater than subsidized.

More Federal Loan Information

Bills are sent out on a monthly basis until fees are paid each term. If your total anticipated financial aid is greater than what you owe for tuition, fees and books, you do not need to pay the bill by the due date. The funds will be applied to those charges when your financial aid is transferred into your MyFVTC Account.

If you are unsure if you have enough financial aid, call us at 920-735-5650 and we will help you figure it out.

Textbooks purchased through www.eCampus.com can be charged to your MyFVTC Account by selecting “My FVTC Charge” as the payment method on the bookstore website.  A $700 line of credit is assigned to all eligible students. This allows your book charges to be added to your student account.  When financial aid disburses against your student account it will pay toward your tuition and book balance.  The $700 is not additional financial aid.

Maintaining your financial aid eligibility is an ongoing process throughout the year.  If you don't complete all your classes, either because you dropped or failed the class, you could be responsible for repaying a portion of the financial aid you received that same semester.

Withdrawing from Courses and No Passing Grades

The federal government has issued guidelines for those students receiving federal funds (Title IV Aid).  All financial aid is earned.  According to regulations, withdrawing from classes, withdrawing from a program, or having a term with no passing grades (Fs, Ws or a combination of both) may result in having to return unearned aid. This means that any funds covering all or a portion of class fees and books, including funds received via a refund check are required to be returned. Any refund(s) remaining in the student's account would be applied toward the balance of the repayment.

This type of Repayment will result in:

• A hold being placed on the student's account until balance has been paid.
• Registration for any additional classes at FVTC will be denied until repayment is made in full. If repayment for a PELL Grant is not made, notice of the outstanding repayment will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Education for collection.  This could have a serious impact on the student's credit rating.
• The student will be ineligible to receive future financial aid at FVTC or any other school until repayment is made in full.  Additional Information: Regarding classes that do not extend the full length of the term “module classes”: If the student registers for two consecutive module classes and withdraws from the second class before it begins, the credit load will be recalculated to determine if a return of funds is necessary.

The Census Date is the point during each semester at which your enrollment is locked in regard to financial aid. It occurs on the 10th business day of each semester. Your financial aid award is calculated considering your enrollment status on Census Date. Any changes to your class schedule should be made prior to this date.

There could be several reasons:

• It's not past the Census Date (the date the money is disbursed to your account).
• Your financial aid eligibility may have changed based on your actual number of credits.
• You haven't completed all your verification paperwork.
• One or more loan requirements haven't been completed. Check the To Do List in your MyFVTC Account.

All of your financial aid funds have been applied to your account and are no longer considered "anticipated."  Or, something has changed on your student account.  Please reach out to FVTC Financial Aid at 920-735-5650 for answers.

Your initial Pell Grant award is based on full-time status (12 or more credits). If the number of eligible credits you take that term is less than full-time, your Pell Grant amount will be pro-rated accordingly.

Yes. Your financial aid award may be increased, reduced, or cancelled under certain conditions, which could include:

• Change in family financial circumstances
• Change in marital status
• Additional resources such as private scholarships, agency funding or Veterans benefits
• Incorrect information on your FAFSA
• Satisfactory academic progress is not maintained
• Change in enrollment status

If any of these conditions apply to your situation, you can contact FVTC Financial Aid at 920-735-5650 and we will review your financial aid award.

If you enroll at FVTC and another college for the same term, you may receive financial aid from the college where your program is located; however, your financial aid could be based on the combined credits from both colleges. If you plan to attend two colleges at the same time, you should complete the Consortium Agreement under Financial Aid Forms on the Student Forms & Policies page for each term with the college where you will be receiving your degree. You will be responsible for paying your tuition and book charges to the other college.  You can be reimbursed from your financial aid funds after they are disbursed.

Any associate degree program is eligible, along with most technical diploma programs. Check the specific program page below for more information.

View Programs

If you attended the fall term and are continuing for the spring term:

• And your anticipated financial aid is enough to cover tuition for the spring term, your tuition will be paid when your financial aid disburses to your MyFVTC Account.
• And your anticipated financial aid is NOT enough to cover the spring term tuition, it’s your responsibility to make a payment for the difference by the registration due date.

Tuition & Fees - Financial Aid = Payment Due

If you’re beginning your program in the spring term, financial aid will be listed under the first-term column on your award letter. Spring is the second term of the school year, but you are considered a first-term student.