Apply for Financial AiD
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Prior to completing the FAFSA, you and your parent(s), if you are a dependent student, should apply for an FSA ID at the FAFSA webpage. Your FSA ID allows you to produce an electronic signature on the FAFSA.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.Be certain to list Bossier Parish Community College as a school you wish to attend so that we will receive your FAFSA results.
BPCC’s federal school code is 012033.
Review your Student Aid Report (SAR)
After your FAFSA is processed you will receive a SAR from the federal processor. If you complete your FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA online, you will receive a SAR acknowledgement. When you apply online, provide your e-mail address and meet certain criteria, you will receive an e-mail from Central Processing Service (CPS) that provides a link to a web page where you can view and print your SAR.
If your SAR is rejected or requires correction, you should read the instructions carefully and take appropriate action. If corrections are necessary, you must send the corrected SAR back to the federal processor. When sending your corrections, whether on paper or electronically, include all necessary signatures and/or your FSA ID. Be sure to list Bossier Parish Community College (012033) to receive the corrections.
Completing Documents
Read your student email: When the Financial Aid Office receives your SAR, you will receive an email instructing you to access our student self service web area, LOLA. The Financial Aid section of LOLA will display a menu with several options. You should select “Student Requirements” to view the information our office will need to complete the financial aid process.
You may be required to complete documents that are found on our website. You may be required to submit a copy of your (or your parent’s) federal IRS tax transcript, a copy of your social security card, a copy of your child’s birth certificate, etc… It is very important that you view the “unsatisfied requirements” and provide the information as quickly as possible to avoid delays in awarding your financial aid.
Verification
Because students sometimes make errors on their application, there is a process for verifying applications and making corrections. The Central Processing System (CPS) selects which applications are to be verified, but the school also has the authority to verify additional students. Verification is not required for students who are only eligible for unsubsidized student financial assistance.
Verification is the process used to check the accuracy of the information a student provides when applying for federal student aid. In this process, we are required by federal law (Higher Education Act as amended and Subpart E or 34 CFR, Part 668) to compare the information from the FAFSA application with the information provided via the Verification Worksheet, federal IRS tax transcripts, and other required documentation. If there are differences between the FAFSA application data and the documents the student/parent submit, the Financial Aid office will make the necessary corrections/updates to the FAFSA. Verification information may also be found in the Federal Student Aid Handbook sections, Student Eligibility, subtopic Verification
The verification policy of BPCC is to verify all applications selected by CPS. In some cases, BPCC (not CPS) will select a student for verification to resolve conflicting information.
The following information is made available on the Verification Worksheet to explain the verification process to students:
Your application was selected for review in a process called “verification.” In this process, we are required by federal law (34 CFR, Part 668) to compare the information from your application with the information provided on this form and with copies of your 20xx federal tax transcript (and your spouse’s if you are married, or parent (s)’ if you are considered dependent for federal aid process). If there are differences between your application and the documents you submitted, corrections will be made. Verification for Pell eligible students must be completed no later than 90 days after student’s last date of attendance at BPCC or August 31, 20xx, whichever is earlier. Verification documents must be submitted no later than 30 days after the last date attended. Verification for SEOG, and Direct Loan and PLUS loan students must be completed 10 days prior to student’s last day of attendance for a semester. We cannot process your financial aid until verification has been completed, so please provide the required documents as soon as possible.
The Banner system requests the appropriate verification documents based on the information provided on the FAFSA. The requested documentation is posted onto the Self-Service area of LoLA in a status coded “unsatisfied”, meaning the document has been requested from the student and the student has not submitted or “satisfied” this request. An email is sent to the student to inform the student to view LoLA for “unsatisfied requirements”. Once the student accesses LoLA, all verification documents required/requested will be visible via Self-Service Banner (LoLA). The student may be able to select a hyperlink via LoLA to complete the form(s) electronically. The student may also choose to download and print a paper version of the forms requested. Forms are also available in the Financial Aid Office. The student may submit requested forms electronically via the secure link on our webpage at https://www.bpcc.edu/admissions/financial-aid/financial-aid-forms or via mail, fax, or in person.
Once all required documents are submitted, the Verification Counselors review all information available. If there are differences between the application and the documents submitted, corrections will be made to the FAFSA. Corrections to the verified data elements can be made on the Banner system. Corrections are electronically exported to the Department of Education. A student is not packaged or awarded aid prior to the completion of the verification process. In the event a student had been awarded aid, and then was selected for verification on a subsequent ISIR, any notices of a change in award amounts are provided within a new award notification email and the revised award amounts are posted on LoLA.
Verification for Pell eligible students must be completed no later than 90 days after student’s last date of attendance at BPCC or August 31 of the current award year, whichever is earlier. Verification documents must be submitted no later than 30 days after the last date attended. Verification for SEOG, and Stafford and PLUS loan students must be completed 10 days prior to student’s last day of attendance for a semester. We do not process financial aid until verification has been completed.
BPCC reserves the right to “school-select” a student’s application for verification if conflicting or incorrect information exists.
Verification must be completed before a loan request is originated or a grant or FWS award is made. BPCC does not make interim disbursements before completing verification, as the school will be held liable for any overpayments as a result of interim disbursement. If the Financial Aid Office becomes aware of conflicting information after aid has been awarded, the student’s file will be reevaluated or reconciled and the student’s financial need and awards will be revised accordingly.
Criteria for Awarding Aid
Bossier Parish Community College strives to meet a large percentage of a student’s financial need with gift assistance making a Bossier Parish Community College education affordable. The College utilizes an awarding process which looks at each student’s financial need, Cost of Attendance minus Expected Family Contribution (EFC), to determine the amount of gift aid we will award.
We assemble our financial aid package with grant assistance first then we add state aid, scholarships, and federal loans for which a student is eligible. All federal and state aid is awarded according to federal and state guidelines and eligibility criteria. Some campus based federal funds, such as Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and federal work study are awarded until funds are depleted, so it is important to file the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1.
Award Notification email: After all financial aid data has been collected and you are admitted to Bossier Parish Community College, we can begin to review your application along with all submitted documentation to determine your eligibility. Once the review (or verification) process is completed and it is determined that you are eligible for financial aid, we will post your awards to your student account. We will then send an Award Notification via your BPCC student email address.
Review Awards via LOLA: You may review your awards by selecting “Financial Aid” and then select “Accept Awards”.
Pell Grant Award
The Pell Grant award is automatically accepted for the student. No action is required via LOLA. The Pell award is based on information you provided on the FAFSA such as income, assets, household size, and number of people in the household that are attending college. The Financial Aid office may ask you to submit documentation at any time to verify this information is correct. If the FAFSA information is determined to be incorrect, the Financial Aid office will submit corrections to the federal processor. If your aid has already been credited to your account and the corrections reduce your award, you will be responsible for any overpayment.
Loan Awards – Accept, Decline, or Reduce
Loan Awards are posted to your account in the same way as the Pell grant. However, the student must take action. You must access the awards via the Financial Aid page on LOLA and choose “Accept Awards”. You may choose to accept the loan in full, decline the loan(s), or reduce the loan amount (by accepting a partial amount).
A good rule of thumb: Borrow only what you need. Remember, student loans must be repaid.
Master Promissory Note (MPN): It is your responsibility to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The MPN is good for ten years, so it is not necessary to complete an MPN each year.
Entrance Counseling: If you are a freshman and you are a first-time borrower, you must complete Entrance Counseling.
Maintaining Eligibility
In order to be eligible for federally funded financial aid programs (and most state funded programs) at Bossier Parish Community College, all students must initially and continually meet the qualitative and quantitative requirements for satisfactory academic progress (SAP). These aid programs include federal grants such as Pell and SEOG, Federal Work-Study, and Direct and PLUS loans.
The SAP Policy document provides information on the following topics:
- Qualitative Measure
- Quantitative Measure
- Academic Amnesty
- Regaining Financial Aid Eligibility
- Financial Aid Appeals
- Resignations
It is the student’s responsibility to read and understand the SAP policy. Review the complete SAP policy or you may come by the office to obtain a copy.
Are you a high school junior?
Take advantage of the FAFSA4caster web site and learn about the financial aid process, gain early awareness of aid eligibility, and much more.
The FSA ID ― a username and password must be used to log in to certain U.S. Department of Education websites. Your FSA ID confirms your identity when you access your financial aid information and electronically sign Federal Student Aid documents. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you can create one when logging in to fafsa.gov, the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®) at www.nslds.ed.gov, StudentLoans.gov, StudentAid.gov, and Agreement to Serve (ATS).
Disbursements and Refunds defined
Please note: “Disbursement” does not mean “REFUND”. “Disbursement” means the financial aid awards have been applied to your student account.
“Refund” means the credit balance owed to you will be sent to BPCC’s debit card company.
Disbursements for Session A
Disbursement/Refunds of federal financial aid for session A will begin on the dates posted in the Refund/Disbursement text box on the main Financial Aid page. If your financial aid awards are not posted on LOLA, you will not have aid disbursed on the dates posted.
Disbursements for all other sessions:
Disbursement of federal financial aid for all other sessions will begin ten (10) days after the session begin date. The federal funds will apply to your student account on or around* 10 days after the session begin date. The Business Office will send the refund file to Bank Mobile on the next appointed refund day after the funds are applied to your student account.
Example:
If your class begins on October 10, the funds will disburse (or apply) to your student account on or around October 20 (if the 20th falls on a weekend, the funds will apply to your account on the following Monday). The Business office usually disburses refunds on Fridays. If your funds apply to your student account on a Monday, the refunds will be sent to BankMobile on Friday.
Students must meet all eligibility requirements for financial aid before any refund will be processed. The Business Office will deduct all amounts owed to the College prior to issuing a credit balance refund.
Disbursements will be made based on actual enrollment on the disbursement date. Your Pell grant is initially awarded based on full-time (12 or more hours) enrollment. If you are not enrolled (and are attending) full-time on the disbursement date, your Pell grant will be adjusted for the correct enrollment status.
*Exceptions: In the event a school break (scheduled or unscheduled) occurs during the first ten (10) days of the session, disbursements will NOT occur ten (10) days after the first day of the session. Disbursement dates are based upon an agreed period of time called the “no-show period” whereby instructors may report student attendance to the Admissions office. The “no-show period” must be extended during sessions that contain a school break (such as spring break). Disbursement dates for these sessions will sometimes occur 15-20 days after the beginning date of the session.
Financial Aid Refunds
Bossier Parish Community College has partnered with BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, to deliver financial aid and other school refunds to Bossier Parish Community College students. Students will be asked to make a refund delivery preference selection with BankMobile so that financial aid money and refunds can be delivered without delay.
All students will be asked to make a refund delivery preference selection from these options: Deposit to your personal bank account or deposit to a BankMobile account.
Students will receive a bright green envelope from BankMobile. In this envelope you will find a personal code. You will need this code to select your refunding preference. Log in to www.refundselection.com, click on the “Let’s Get Started” button and follow the prompts to set up your refunding preference. You may have the funds directly deposited into your personal checking or savings account or you may also elect to set up an account through BankMobile and have the refunds deposited into that account that you may access via a BankMobile debit card.
In the event that you do not receive the green envelope through regular mail or it is lost, please contact the Business Office to request assistance.
CAUTION: Financial aid will only pay what is charged to a student account at the time financial aid is disbursed. If charges are incurred by the student after all financial aid has applied, the student will be responsible for the balance owed.