Federal Aid
Qualifying for Financial Aid
Financial aid eligibility is based on financial need. There is no income cutoff or other simple method of determining whether you will qualify for need-based financial aid or “free” money. However, you can estimate your eligibility by using the Federal Student Aid Estimator.
Determining Financial Need
Financial Need = Cost of Attendance – Student Aid Index
The amount of need-based financial aid you can receive, like grants and subsidized loans, depends on your financial need. You can also use non-need-based loans, such as unsubsidized loans and PLUS loans, to cover your Student Aid Index. After your financial need is assessed, your award package will be created. This package may include tuition waivers, scholarships, and grants. Once you receive your award, you can request Federal Work-Study or student loans through your Laker HUB.
Amount of Financial Aid
The amount of need-based and/or non-need based aid will depend on your financial need, as well as other factors, such as the availability of funds, award limits, and award requirements.
Once your eligibility for aid is determined, you will receive a financial aid award letter from Lake Land College, which will include the awards and amounts for which you qualify. These awards are based on full-time enrollment. You can receive financial aid for less than full-time; however, the award amounts will be pro-rated based on actual enrollment.
Eligibility Requirements
For specific eligibility criteria, click on the appropriate program below.
To be eligible to receive federal financial aid at Lake Land College, a student must be enrolled at the college and meet the following requirements:
- Demonstrate financial need for need-based federal student aid programs;
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
- Have a valid Social Security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau);
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program;
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress
- Provide consent and approval to have your federal tax information transferred directly into your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form;
- Sign the certification statement of the FAFSA form stating that you’re not in default on a federal student loan, you do not owe money on a federal student grant, and you’ll only use federal student aid for educational purposes; and
- Show you’re qualified to obtain a college or career school education
- Having a high school or state-recognized equivalent, such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate;
- Completing a high school education in a homeschool setting
IMPORTANT: On the FAFSA form, a contributor refers to anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent’s spouse) who’s required to provide information on the FAFSA form. If a required contributor doesn’t provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into your FAFSA form, you won’t be eligible for federal student aid, even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form.
