Navigating the FAFSA at City College: A Comprehensive Guide to Financial Aid

Finances should never prevent a student from pursuing their education. City College and Houston Community College (HCC) offer various financial aid programs, including grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships, to help students achieve their academic goals. This article provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and navigating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process at City College and HCC, ensuring you have the opportunity to pursue higher education.

Understanding Financial Aid at City College and HCC

The amounts and types of financial aid you receive are determined through federal, state, and institutional guidelines. Most awards are need-based, and students must maintain good academic standing to qualify. City College administers federal and state funds and funds provided by special programs, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the College itself. Grants are awarded through federal, state, and institutional sources and are generally based on financial need. Scholarships are provided through the HCC Foundation, corporations, private donors, and the college. Path to Profession Program (Work-Study) student employment is offered through the college.

Applying for Financial Aid: The FAFSA and TASFA

The first step in the financial aid process is to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). The information you provide determines whether you qualify for federal and state grants and federal loans. If you are an undocumented student eligible for state financial aid funds, you should complete the Texas Application For State Financial Aid (TASFA) to request state funds instead of the FAFSA.

Key Steps to Apply

Create an FSA ID: To apply for federal financial aid, first, create an account by obtaining your FSA ID if you have never applied for federal aid before. You will need an FSA ID for both the student and contributors.
Complete the FAFSA Application: Once you have your FSA ID, you can complete and submit the FAFSA application online.
HCC's School Code: When applying, you will be asked to enter a school code to the college you wish to receive financial aid. Use HCC's School Code (010422) when filling out the FAFSA. The FAFSA Federal School Code for City College of San Francisco is 012874.
Review Your FSS: Review your FSS (FAFSA Submission Summary) carefully to ensure all information is accurate. If you find any errors, you can make corrections online at studentaid.gov.
Check Your To-Do List: To view your Financial Aid To-do List, visit HCC MyEagle myeagle.hccs.edu; select ‘Student Sign-in’ tile/box; select the “Checklist” box/tile; and then select “Financial Aid” on the left-hand menu. At CUNY, you will see the “Verify My FAFSA” To-Do list item in your CUNYfirst Student Center.
Complete Verification: If selected for verification, you will be required to submit documentation to the Financial Aid Office. Verification is the process schools use to confirm that the information reported on your FAFSA form is accurate.
Monitor Award Status: When all documents show “Satisfied” under all your required documentation, your awards will be ready to view under the Award Tab.

Important Deadlines

Students are encouraged to file their FAFSA application as early as possible. If you plan to attend HCC during Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and/or Summer 2026, you need to fill out the 2025-26 FAFSA form using 2023 tax info. If you plan to attend HCC during Fall 2026, Spring 2027, and/or Summer 2027, you need to fill out the 2026-27 FAFSA form using 2024 tax info. Applications are currently open for the 2026-2027 and 2025-2026 academic years.

Understanding the Student Aid Index (SAI)

Most federal financial aid is based on financial need. The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number that HCC's financial aid office uses to determine how much federal student aid you would receive if you attended. This number results from the information that you provide on your FAFSA form. The lower the SAI, the higher the need. A negative SAI indicates the student has a higher financial need.

The college or career school will determine your financial need by subtracting your SAI from the cost of attendance. The FAFSA Simplification Act replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the SAI. Your SAI will be listed on your FAFSA Submission Summary. Colleges must include all funding resources as part of a student’s financial aid package. If it is determined that you do not have financial need, you can still apply for an unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan or scholarships based on merit.

Changes to the FAFSA

In 2020, the FAFSA Simplification Act was enacted into law with the goal of making the application simpler and making more students eligible for federal student aid. The process for the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) will include some of the changes from the new FAFSA, both of which will be implemented for the 2024-2025 award year.

Key Changes

Contributor Consent: Each contributor (student, spouse, student's parent(s) and/or stepparent(s)) will need to provide consent to give their Federal Tax Information (FTI) in the new Consent to Retrieve and Disclose Federal Tax Information section of the FAFSA.
Direct Data Transfer: The FAFSA can now pull information directly from your income tax return.
Contributor without SSN: There is currently an issue preventing contributors without a Social Security number (SSN) from starting or accessing the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. Until it’s resolved, the student can follow the steps to submit your form if you have a required contributor without an SSN. The account information will be validated against credit bureau data to verify the identity of the contributor without an SSN, and if the system is unable to verify the contributor’s identity, they will be asked to contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center to open a case to establish their identity.
Simplified Form: The new simplified FAFSA form will be shorter and require much less effort on your part to fill out.

Additional Resources and Information

ID.me Verification

ID.me is a digital identity wallet that makes it easier for people to prove who they are online. They meet federal standards for consumer authentication and are committed to expanding access to verification. You may need to use ID.me to verify your identity.

Why use ID.me? ID.me helps protect your information from loss, misuse, or unauthorized access. ID.me doesn’t sell, rent, or trade your personal info.
How to verify: Go back to the HCC CSQA Student System and sign in to your account. From the menu, select Checklists, then choose Verify Identification. Next, select the ID.me button and sign in to your ID.me account.
Multiple Accounts: You can only have one verified ID.me account.

Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances refer to an event that impacts a student’s or their family’s financial situation (e.g. loss of employment, death of a parent). Unusual Circumstances pertain to a student’s dependency status - through an Unusual Circumstance Appeal (previously the Dependency Override Appeal) - may be changed by a financial aid administrator based on unique situations (e.g. abandonment by parents).

Disbursement and Refunds

Disbursement means that all eligible financial aid funds will be posted to your account as payment for classes. Students will begin to receive disbursement and refunds when they attend classes (all classes, including late start) for at least 5 to 6 weeks. Pell Grant refunds will be based on your enrollment. Your Pell Grant will not be adjusted if you add units after the Census date (Freeze Date). Students can receive a maximum of 600% Pell eligibility, equivalent to full-time enrollment in two semesters in the same academic year. The 600% total eligibility applies to all schools and colleges. You may be eligible to receive additional Pell Grant funds for Summer.

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CUNY Student Forms

Student Forms is a new student portal that allows students (and parents) to electronically sign and upload documents! As students and college financial aid staff work through the forms, the Student Forms software provides real-time updates on any additional documentation needed based on the information submitted. Once you have completed all required forms to resolve outstanding financial aid tasks, the integration with other CUNY systems will update CUNYfirst in real time. CUNY has implemented Single Sign-On (SSO) for CUNY Student Forms.

Financial Aid Estimator

The CUNY Financial Aid Estimator offers you and your family an early estimate of potential financial aid and net price based on your financial and educational information. Most users complete it in 5-10 minutes. Please note that completing the estimator is not a financial aid application, and results are estimates only and do not represent final awards.

FERPA Release

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Should your family members have questions regarding your financial aid, you must complete a FERPA release form to authorize the release of your Houston City College record.

CityU Financial Aid

CityU must have received a valid FAFSA at least two weeks before the first day of the quarter in order to receive a FA Offer by the first day of the quarter. Student must also be fully admitted to CityU by this date. If we require additional documentation or information, this may cause a delay. We continually process new FAFSAs as they come in. For continuing students, any revision requests must also be received by our office two weeks before the first day of the quarter in order for the request to be reviewed before the quarter begins.

Student Loan Payment Pause

The student loan payment pause is ending. Interest will begin accruing on September 1, 2023, and payments will be due in October 2023.

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Seeking Assistance

We at HCC Financial Aid are here to help you with your questions and concerns. FAFSA filing assistance is available virtually. The Financial Aid Office offers in-person services by appointment only. You can get personal help by visiting our Financial Aid Office or joining our virtual counter. Our staff can help you with specific questions. CityU’s Financial Aid Counselors are here to answer any questions you may have along the way. Please make a FAFSA or TAP Application appointment.

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