Financial Aid | Steps to Apply

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

FAFSA
Complete the 2022-2023 Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA). Make note of MSJC school code: 001246. DO NOT mail your FAFSA to MSJC. The FAFSA on the Web Worksheet will help you identify which documents to gather to make your application process seamless.

If you (and your parents if dependent) are a first-time user, you will be required to create an FSA ID. The FSA ID consists of a user-created username and password. Visit Creating an FSA ID for tips on creating an FSA ID. This will allow you and your parent(s) to sign electronically and ensure timely submission!

Approximately 3 to 5 days after you file 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 online. 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, 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 2022-2023 CA Dream Act Application. You may estimate your income if you have not completed your 2020 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 2022-2023 FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application and ensure your verified GPA has been submitted to California Student Aid Commission by March 2, 2022. Follow the instructions below to determine which school verifies your GPA on the 2022-2023 Verification Form.

If you earned less than 16 college semester units prior to Spring 2021, then you must contact your high school or last institution of attendance on how to get your GPA verified. Please reach out to them as soon as possible to ensure verification of your GPA in a timely manner as they may need to complete the GPA verification form.
If you earned 16 or more college semester units, including at least 1 unit at MSJC prior to Spring 2021, and your high school graduation date as well as all of your official transcripts are on file with MSJC Enrollment Services, MSJC will automatically send your cumulative GPA to the California Student Aid Commission Electronically, once they have been evaluated. Students meeting the above criteria and who have attended within the past two years 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, 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 Financial Aid 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 submitted to the California 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 with the financial aid office to be submitted to the California Student Aid Commission.

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 5-7 business days after you receive your SAR. If you do not receive an acknowledgement email you may contact our office at (951) 465-7891 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 in 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
Students may submit any verification documents being requested using our secure document upload portal, StudentForms. Please do not submit documents that have not been requested by the MSJC Financial Aid Office.

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.

*Note: If eligible, grants are automatically accepted on students' behalf. As a condition of receipt of any federal or state financial aid funds, all students agree and accept the Terms and Conditions. If you wish to decline any awards, please contact the Financial Aid Office.