The U.S. Department of Education chooses applications to verify at random; this process is called Verification and it is used to ensure the information reported on your FAFSA is accurate. In order to successfully complete the verification process, you must submit certain required documents to the Office of Financial Aid. Your documents will be matched against the information you reported on your FAFSA.
If your application must be verified, a “To Do List” item will be posted to your Student Center page in CUNYfirst. You will also receive an e-mail from the college instructing you what to submit to the Office of Financial Aid. After you submit your information, your application will be reviewed and, if necessary, corrected. Reprocessing of your application, if required, can take up to 2-4 weeks during peak time.
Once you have submitted the required information to the Office of Financial Aid, make no further changes to your application unless you speak with a financial aid advisor first. Your awards will be calculated based on information from your FAFSA submission and any verification documentation you may have been required to submit to the Office of Financial Aid. A Financial Aid Offer Letter will be emailed to you once your eligibility is determined.
Guttman Community College has a modular academic calendar that allows students to enroll in two sessions per term (Fall 1/Fall 2 and Spring 1/Spring 2). Financial aid eligibility is determined based on a student’s matriculation, cost of attendance (COA), Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), remaining financial aid, academic standing and enrollment (amount of credits registered for). Your enrollment for the term (which includes both sessions) is locked on the 7th day of the term. Please refer to the Academic Calendar for details. On the 7th day of the term, the financial aid office locks your enrollment, so it is important to pre-register for your Session 2 courses, if applicable, prior to the 7th day of the term. Your financial aid awards will be based on the enrollment locked in on the 7th day of the term. If you need to make schedule changes, the Office of Financial Aid advises that you speak to an academic advisor and a financial aid counselor prior to making changes to your enrollment as this may affect your financial aid awards for the term.
If a student receives a WN administrative grade in one or more courses, it means that the instructor has reported that you have never attended the course. A WN administrative grade affects the student’s financial aid eligibility and may create a balance, which is the student’s responsibility to pay back to Guttman Community College. A WN administrative grade is not eligible for financial aid and does not count towards your enrollment for the term. The student must visit an academic advisor (Student Success Advocate or Career Strategist) and a financial aid counselor to evaluate how the WN administrative grade(s) will affect your financial aid awards.
Did you know there’s a maximum amount of Federal Pell grant funds you can receive over your lifetime as an undergraduate student?
The amount of Federal Pell grant funds you may receive over your lifetime as an undergraduate student is limited by federal law to be the equivalent of six (6) years of Pell grant funding. Since the amount of a scheduled Pell grant you can receive each award year is equal to 100%, six years of Pell eligibility is equivalent to 600%.
How is Federal Pell grant LEU Calculated?
Scheduled award: The maximum amount of Federal Pell Grant funding you can receive is calculated for an award year. An award year is a period from July 1 of one calendar year to June 30 of the next calendar year.
Your scheduled award:
- is partially determined by using your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that is calculated from the information you and your family provided when you filed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form;
- is the maximum amount you would be able to receive for the award year if you were enrolled full-time for the full school year; and
- represents 100% of your Pell grant eligibility for that award year.
If your LEU equals or exceeds 600%, you may no longer receive Pell grant funding. Similarly, if your LEU is greater than 500% but less than 600%, while you will be eligible for a Pell grant for the next award year, you will not be able to receive a full scheduled award.
Where can you see the LEU percentage?
You can log in to “My Aid” using your FSA ID to view your LEU percentage.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1976, as amended and contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (34 CFS 99, subpart D99.30), requires a written and dated consent from any student before disclosing personal identifiable information from the student’s educational/financial records.
Once a student reaches 18 years of age or attends a postsecondary institution, he or she becomes an “eligible student,” and all rights formerly given to parents under FERPA transfer to the student.
A student’s consent is required to disclose personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education records to a third person. For more information about completing the Financial Aid FERPA release form, please visit the Hub on the 3rd floor or contact the Office of Financial aid at financial.aid@guttman.cuny.edu or 646-313-8011.
