Awarding Process

In this Section

 

Federal Student Loan Changes Beginning 2026–2027

New federal requirements may affect your Federal Direct Loan eligibility if you drop, withdraw from or do not successfully complete courses.

Before making changes to your schedule, talk with Financial Aid to understand how your enrollment changes could impact your future loan eligibility.

FAFSA Application Period

Students can fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) beginning on October 1 each year. This allows a student to complete the next academic year FAFSA almost a year in advance to ensure they have their financial aid offer and to prepare a budget for college expenses. Students and their families will use federal tax information from two years prior on the FAFSA application.

FAFSA Application Date Available Tax Year Required Semesters Covered Awarding Timeline
2026-2027 October 1, 2025 2024 Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027 Spring 2026
2027-2028 October 1, 2026 2025 Fall 2027, Spring 2028, Summer 2028 Spring 2027

Cost of Attendance/Budgets

Each student is given a Cost of Attendance (COA) or budget based upon several factors that include residency status, degree program and living situation.   

Awarding Information

Semester Information
Fall / Spring
  • Packaging financial aid offers for the upcoming aid year begins roughly six months prior (around March/April) to the start of the fall term and is ongoing throughout the aid year.
  • Most financial aid packages are split equally between the fall and spring term.
  • To view your offered aid and determine how much you will need for your educational costs, log into eWOLF and locate the Financial Aid card on your account. If you cannot locate this card, you can search for the "Financial Aid" card by clicking on "View All Cards". Click "Offer" to view your offered aid.
  • Payment of financial aid to a student's account takes place approximately three weeks after the semester has begun.
Spring / Summer
  • Packaging financial aid awards for the spring and summer semesters generally begins in November for students who are not attending the fall term.
  • Students who transfer to FRCC and attended another school in the fall will have their financial aid offers adjusted based upon their remaining eligibility for the aid year. This will have an impact on how much aid is available for the spring and summer semesters.
  • Most financial aid packages that are offered will be split equally between the spring and summer term. Funds such as work-study are limited and may be unavailable.
  • To view your offered aid and determine how much you will need for your educational costs, log into eWOLF and locate the Financial Aid card on your account. If you cannot locate this card, you can search for the "Financial Aid" card by clicking on "View All Cards". Click "Offer" to view your offered aid.
  • Payment of financial aid to a student's account takes place approximately three weeks after the semester has begun.
Summer
  • Packaging financial aid awards for the Summer semester generally begins in April for students not already offered Summer aid.
  • Funding is limited for Summer term and is based upon remaining federal eligibility that has not already been used during the prior Fall and Spring term.
  • To view your offered aid and determine how much you will need for your educational costs, log into eWOLF and locate the Financial Aid card on your account. If you cannot locate this card, you can search for the "Financial Aid" card by clicking on "View All Cards". Click "Offer" to view your offered aid.
  • For work-study availability, please contact the financial aid office.  Additional work-study information may be found under Work-Study and Student Employment.
  • Payment of financial aid to a student's account takes place approximately three weeks after the semester has begun.

Transfer Students

Students who plan to transfer to FRCC during the academic year and wish to be considered for financial aid need to add the FRCC school code (007933) to their FAFSA application. It is important to cancel any pending aid at your previous institution prior to transferring to FRCC. If a student does not cancel pending aid at their prior institution before transferring to FRCC, they could end up owing a balance at one or both institutions.  

FRCC may request an overlapping aid clearance form be completed by a student's prior institution. This will confirm how much, if any, federal aid was used during previous terms within the academic year at a student's prior school. The amount of financial aid eligibility at FRCC may be limited. Student aid eligibility will be adjusted based upon remaining eligibility not used while attending prior institutions within the same school year.

Just Visiting for a Class or Two?

Visiting students who are not seeking to earn a degree from FRCC are not eligible for financial aid. Tuition and fees must be paid by the payment deadline each term. Students should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to declaring a degree program at FRCC if you have questions.