Students

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I submitted my FAFSA. Now what?
    • Once you submit your FAFSA it takes the federal government 4 business days to route that FAFSA to the schools you have listed on it. The government will send you an email (or letter if you didn’t put an email address on your FAFSA) letting you know that they received and processed your FAFSA. The school will receive your FAFSA a few days after you receive that notice from the government.

      Once the school receives your FAFSA you will be sent an email notification requesting further information or an award letter.

  • I was awarded a student loan. Now what?
    • If you wish to accept a student loan, you just need to complete a loan acceptance packet. Please visit our forms page to print and complete the ICC Federal Direct Loan Acceptance form for the current aid year. Please read the instructions carefully and submit a complete loan acceptance packet. Incomplete packets will not be accepted.

  • Can I accept my student loan in MyICC (eServices)?
    • No. You must submit a complete loan acceptance packet to the Financial Assistance Office as your way of accepting the student loan that was offered to you.

  • FAFSA sent me an email saying I qualify for aid. Do you have my aid yet? Why don’t I see this award in my MyICC (eServices)?
    • Once you submit your FAFSA the federal government will send you an email (or letter if you didn’t put an email address on your FAFSA) and let you know that they received your FAFSA for processing. It takes the government 4 business days to route that FAFSA to the school. You won’t see anything in your MyICC (eServices) until after the Financial Assistance Office receives your FAFSA.

  • I got a letter saying my status is Satisfactory. What does this mean?
    • Satisfactory means that you currently meet the academic requirements for receiving financial aid.

  • What is verification?
    • Verification is a process where the federal government selects 1 out of every 3 FAFSA’s to have the school verify that the information the student submitted is complete and accurate. If your FAFSA is selected for verification the Financial Assistance Office will send you a letter requesting further documentation.

  • I turned in all the requested items (tax transcripts, W2’s, etc). Why haven’t I been awarded yet?
    • Once you submit the requested items the Financial Assistance Office will compare the information on the items submitted to the information you submitted on your FAFSA. If there is conflicting information the FAFSA will be updated to reflect the correct information. The last step of the verification process is for us to send the FAFSA to the government for their approval. It will then take the government 4 business days to send your FAFSA back to ICC. Once the Financial Assistance Office receives the FAFSA back as accepted you can be awarded. This entire process can take a few weeks depending on the volume of verifications that need to be completed.

  • Why do I need to submit all of this extra paperwork? I put all of that information on my FAFSA. Can’t you get it from there?
    • The Financial Assistance Office needs the requested items to compare what is on those items to what you submitted on the FAFSA. It may be that you entered something on the FAFSA incorrectly and could be eligible for additional grant money. Keep in mind, it may also be that due to entering something incorrectly that you may be eligible for less grant money. It’s important that the information is verified so the student is awarded the maximum amount in grants they are eligible to receive.

  • When can I apply for a student loan?
    • If a student would like to submit a complete loan acceptance packet they must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours and they must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards at the beginning of the semester in which they would like to apply for the loan.

      If a student is on Warning status with financial aid for not meeting one of the academic requirements for one semester or is on appeal probation (was on termination, filed an appeal and it was approved) they will not be allowed to submit a loan acceptance packet until after the appeal is approved.

  • What are my options if I am not eligible for financial aid?
    • If a student is not eligible for financial aid they will not be able to receive any aid from their FAFSA. The student will need to contact a private banking institution to see if the student is eligible for a student loan.

  • How can I set up a charge on my financial aid account or on my student ID so I can purchase my books?
    • Bookstore charges for Pell eligible and loan students are automatically set up for the student to use at the bookstore two weeks prior to classes starting for the Fall and Spring semesters. It is important that you have finalized your enrollment and have submitted all requested financial aid documents to ensure an accurate bookstore charge is set up in a timely manner for your use in the bookstore.

  • Do I have to do a new FAFSA every year?
    • Yes. Each new school year requires a new FAFSA if you wish to be considered for financial aid.

  • Do I have to wait until our taxes are filed to complete the FAFSA?
    • No. You should file the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 of each year for the next school year. You will need to mark your FAFSA that you are going to file but have not yet done so and then you can use estimated figures for the FAFSA. Once you have filed your taxes you can go back to your FAFSA and use the IRS Retrieval Button to securely pull in your tax information from the IRS database.

  • What is the ICC school code for FAFSA?
    • ICC’s school code is 006753.

  • Why do I have to provide my parents information?
    • For FAFSA purposes, the federal government considers anyone under the age of 24 to be a dependent student and they must use parent information when completing the FAFSA.

  • What makes a student independent?
    • To be considered an independent student when completing the FAFSA you must meet one of the independent qualifiers which are as follows:

      1. 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year
      2. Married as of the date filing
      3. Working on a master’s or doctorate program
      4. Active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training
      5. Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
      6. Have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you
      7. Both of your parents deceased
      8. In legal guardianship as determined by a court in your state of legal residence
      9. An emancipated minor as determined by a court in your state of legal residence
      10. Documented homeless youth.

  • My parents are separated or divorced. Whose financial information do I use for the FAFSA?
    • If your parents are divorced or separated, answer the questions about the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent.

  • Do I have to put my step-parents income on the FAFSA?
    • If the parent whose information you are using on the FAFSA is remarried at the time that you complete the FAFSA you must include the step-parents information on your FAFSA. This is true even if your parent and step-parent were not married the year previous to your applying for financial aid.

  • What do I do if my parents won’t give their tax information for my FAFSA?
    • Under very limited circumstances (for example, your parents are incarcerated; you left home due to an abusive family environment; or you do not know where your parents are and are unable to contact them), you may be able to submit your FAFSA without parental information. If you are unable to provide parental information for one of the reasons mentioned above, skip the information about your parents on the FAFSA, sign with your PIN and submit your FAFSAA. Once you submit the FAFSA without the parental data, you must follow up with the Financial Assistance Office at the school you plan to attend, in order to complete your FAFSA.

  • What do I do if school starts and I don’t have an award letter yet? Do I still go to class?
    • If you are enrolled in classes, you need to go to class. You will want to watch the refund date of your classes and verify you qualify for assistance before that date.  If you reach the refund date and are not awarded financial aid, you should set up payment arrangements for your classes. You will be responsible for any charges on your account.

  • What if I have to drop out of all my classes and I’ve already received my financial aid?
    • Financial aid funds (Title IV funds) are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the aid is awarded. When a student completely withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of the Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive.

      If the student withdraws from school after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV assistance earned by the student must be determined. The Financial Assistance Office will work with the instructors to determine the students last date of attendance in each of the classes. If the amount of aid disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned based on last date of attendance, the unearned funds must be returned to the government. The college will return any unearned funds to the Title IV program and the student will then owe the college.

  • Why is there a hold on my classes?
    • As a courtesy to students who have submitted all requested items for their FAFSA and the FAFSA indicates possible Pell grant eligibility, the Financial Assistance Office adds a hold to the students classes so the student is not dropped for non-payment of tuition. By submitting all requested items the student is indicating that they want to use financial aid as their form of payment to the college. The student will see the FA-Hold Class(es)- PELL in their MyICC (eServices) if they are being held.

      Students who do not have Pell grant eligibility must make payment arrangements with the college if they wish to have their classes held. Payment arrangements could also be made by applying a for a student loan. If a student would like to use a student loan as their form of payment they must submit a complete loan acceptance packet AFTER the student has been awarded in which case the Financial Assistance Office will add the FA-Hold Class(es) –LOAN to the student account.