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Read the Financial Aid Student Handbook
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Attend DACC at the cost that is right for you and change your current life.
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Check out the financial aid forms and make sure that your set for your school year at DACC.
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The student is required to meet the standards listed on the page or eligibility to receive student financial aid will be placed in a Financial Aid SAP WARNING status, a Financial Aid SAP SUSPENSION status, or a Financial Aid SAP PROBATION status.
Check to see if you qualify
The refund period is prior to the first day the class meets or the first two weeks of class for those who meet twelve weeks or longer, or the first week of class for those meeting less than twelve weeks. If a student officially withdraws from a class during the refund period a 100% refund will be issued.
The exception to this policy is when the Department of Education's Federal Refund Policy must be applied to those students whose costs are paid by student financial aid funding.
Eligibility for Student Financial Aid is determined by individual "Financial Need." Financial need is the difference between the costs of attending college for a period of attendance and the amount a student's family can be expected to contribute from their income and assets.
Because various sources of SFA funds are limited, it is usually necessary to meet a student's needs by combining several forms of aid. This combination of more than one kind of aid is referred to as a "financial aid package".
The First Step
The first step to determine if you are eligible for any type of student aid (Federal and/or Illinois State) is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov. Your eligibility for the need and non-need based programs will be determined from your family's financial resources as well as household size and number attending college (excluding parent's).
Resources for Blind and Visually Impaired Students: TTY number 1-800-730-9013.
The previous year's financial resources (that is a completed Federal tax year) prior to the start of a financial aid award year is the data you will use to complete the FAFSA. For instance if you plan to take classes Fall 2022 and/or Spring 2023 you would be in the 2022/2023 Award Year. Your family would use income resource data from the tax year of 2020. The DACC Financial Aid Office will require copies of your Tax Transcripts to complete the verification process. You can contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at 1-800-829-1040 to request a Tax Return Transcript. If you use the IRS data retrieval, when completing your FAFSA, you will not have to submit a tax transcript unless you change the tax fields later.
Important
If you think your family has an exceptional financial circumstance that should be addressed, complete the worksheet for the Appeal for Special Circumstances (ASC) and return it (with supporting documentation) to the DACC financial Aid Office. Results from the FAFSA must be on file and that information verified before a Special Circumstance can be evaluated.
The ASC form as well as other DACC Financial Aid Office forms can be found by clicking here. Be sure to follow all instructions provided and attachments requested with each applicable form you need to submit.
Note:
DACC's Financial Aid Office verifies all elements of the FAFSA data. You and your family will be requested to provide the documentation concerning the information required on the FAFSA. Your financial aid file will not be completed and student financial aid (that you may qualify for) will not be awarded until all verification is complete. Any instances of conflicting, erroneous or omitted information may require a correction to your FAFSA data. Once corrections are processed and returned you will be updated to any changes in eligibility. It is important that you reply to all requests for verification documentation. Verification must be completed and corrections made (if applicable) before the end of the semester for which you are applying for student aid funds or all "potential" SFA funds will be canceled.
Reminder
The Fall 2022 semester will begin August 22, 2022. There is still plenty of time for the student to complete their student aid files and our office to determine eligibility. If you are a new student to DACC this Fall 2022 and you have attended other colleges, you will need to request official grade transcripts from these colleges. We suggest you do this step as soon as possible. All students need to have their high school transcript or high school equivalency documents showing graduation on file in our Records office and these should be requested as soon as possible. Send all transcripts to the DACC Records office at records@dacc.edu or fax 217-443- 8337. Also, send a memo (or phone) the DACC Records Office that the transcript(s) is to be evaluated for your program of study (Certificate, Degree or transfer credit) at DACC. Credits that can be used for your program at DACC will be included in the Maximum Time Frame for program completion. We will not certify DL Stafford loans until all transcripts are received and evaluated.