Financial Aid | Steps to Apply

Step 1: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or CA Dream Act Applications (CADAA)

FAFSA
Complete the 2020-2021 Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA). Make note of MSJC school code: 001246. DO NOT mail your FAFSA to MSJC. Be sure to check out the "Before Beginning a FAFSA" section of the federal website. The FAFSA on the Web Worksheet will help you know what documents to gather so your FAFSA on the web experience will be quick and painless.

If you (and your parents if dependent) are a first-time user, you will be required to create an FSA ID and will enter your name, date of birth, Social Security number, contact information, and challenge questions and answers. The FSA ID, which consists of a user-created username and password. It allows users to electronically access personal information on federal student aid web sites as well as to electronically sign a FAFSA.

View the step-by-step guide to creating an FSA ID
You will be able to sign your FAFSA electronically. This saves time!

Approximately 3 to 5 days after you filed your FAFSA with the Federal Processor, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) via e-mail, if you provided a valid e-mail address on your FAFSA. If you do not have a valid e-mail address on file, your SAR will be mailed to you by the Federal Processor within 7 to 10 days. If you do not receive your SAR, please call 1-800-433-3243 or check on-line at Federal Student Aid.

Review the SAR to make sure all the information is correct. If corrections are needed, complete Part II of the SAR and mail Part II back to the Federal Processor. If you have your PIN, you may make corrections on-line. If no corrections are needed, keep the entire SAR for your records. MSJC will receive this information electronically

If you are eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, then click Link To IRS to transfer your tax return information from the IRS Web site into your FAFSA. (Note: If you previously transferred your tax return information from the IRS, or you indicate that you filed your tax return electronically within the last three weeks or through the mail within the last eight weeks, then the Link To IRS button displays once you click the “View option to link to the IRS” hyperlink.)

If you are ineligible or otherwise choose not to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to retrieve tax information, you may need to provide a copy of your IRS Tax Return Transcript and/or your parents’ IRS Tax Return Transcript, if you are a dependent student.

CA Dream Act Application (CADAA)

If you are an undocumented AB540 student, complete the 2020-2021 CA Dream Act Application. You may estimate your income if you have not completed your 2018 IRS tax return.

Review your application to make sure all the information is correct. Check your application status and/or make corrections.

Step 2: Cal Grant GPA Verification
If you are a California resident or eligible AB540 student and did not receive a Cal Grant in previous years, you must submit a 2020-2021 FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application and a completed GPA Verification Form to California Student Aid Commission by March 2, 2020. Follow the instructions below to determine which school verifies your GPA on the 2020-2021 Verification Form.

If you earned less than 16 college semester units prior to Spring 2020, then you must submit the GPA Verification Form to your high school for verification. Check with your high school for their deadlines to submit the form.
If you earned 16 or more college semester units, including at least 1 unit at MSJC prior to Spring 2020, you submitted your high school graduation date as well as all of your official transcripts to MSJC Enrollment Services and they have been evaluated by MSJC Enrollment Services, then MSJC will automatically send your cumulative GPA to the California Student Aid Commission electronically. You do not need to submit a GPA Verification Form.
If you have completed 16 units but DO NOT have your high school graduation date on file with MSJC Enrollment Services or have not submitted all of your official transcripts and had them evaluated by MSJC Enrollment Services, then you must manually complete a GPA Verification Form with the Evaluation Office.
If you completed your high school education with a GED, a copy of your certificate must be submitted along with the GPA Verification form and mailed to the Student Aid Commission.
If you have not attended MSJC at least in one term within two years prior to the term of the electronic submission, you will need to complete a paper GPA Verification form to the California Student Aid Commission on your own.

Step 3: Acknowledgement Email
After we receive your student aid report or California aid report, we will review the information to determine if additional documents are needed from you (i.e. tax transcripts, etc.) This is done to ensure the accuracy of the information you reported, as required by federal and state regulations.

You should receive an acknowledgement email in your student email account 1-2 weeks after you receive your SAR. If you do not receive an acknowledgement email you may call (951) 487-3245 (San Jacinto Campus) or (951) 639-5245 (Menifee Valley Campus) to check your status.

Please note: If you received a California College Promise Grant based on your initial FAFSA or CADAA submission and later determined ineligible, you will be rebilled for your registration fees.

Step 4: Submit Documents
Submit all documents requested on your acknowledgement email. Make copies of all documents before submitting, and put your (the student's) name and student identification number on each page submitted. Documents may be submitted securely using the Student Support Hub or via mail. Please do not send documents that have not been requested by the MSJC Financial Aid Office.

Step 5: Verification
Your application along with the supporting documents is reviewed for accuracy. We will only review the files of students that are eligible to receive aid. This review process may take 4-6 weeks. Applications are reviewed in order by date you completed your file (submitted all requested documents). During this process, it may be necessary to request additional information for clarification or to resolve discrepancies. You are encouraged to respond quickly. If you are in an ineligible SAP status we will only review your file once you have reinstated.

Step 6: Award Notification Email
Once your file is awarded, you will be sent notification to your student e-mail that your financial aid awards are available to view on your Self-Service. Self-Service will provide you with the types of aid programs offered to you along with eligible amounts per term and /or by year based on a full-time enrollment status.

Step 7: Disbursement
After receipt of the financial aid award notification email, aid will be disbursed according to the disbursement schedule. BankMobile will disburse any eligible funds based on the refund preference you selected. Please refer to our Disbursement Schedule & Important Dates. Refunds for each semester will be processed through BankMobile no earlier than the first week of classes.

If you are a new or returning student to MSJC and did not attend the previous term, and if you have been awarded the federal Pell grant, we must verify with the Department of Education that you have not received financial aid from another school prior to any disbursements. A hold will be placed on your financial aid record for a 7 day period until we receive verification.

*Note: You must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements to receive your financial aid. Refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (available in the Financial Aid Office or at the MSJC/Financial Aid website) for more information on this requirement.