Southeast Community College

EDUCATIONAL COSTS

Federal Regulations provide standard guidelines for calculating a Cost of Attendance (COA) budget for all colleges and universities. A Cost of Attendance budget will include both direct and indirect costs.

Direct costs include standard amounts of charges that are paid directly to the school. This will include tuition, mandatory fees and can include room and board if the school provides on-campus housing and meals.

Indirect costs include standard amounts a student will incur, pay for on their own, while they are attending college. These costs include room and board, if the student is not living on campus or housing and meals are not provided by the school; books and supplies, transportation, and allowable miscellaneous expenses. In some cases, a specific program of study will have charges applicable to all students in that program and an allowance can be attached as well.

An example of a Cost of Attendance Budget would look as follows.

DIRECT COSTS
Average Tuition $ 2340.00 (based on an estimated 15 credit hours)
Mandatory Fees $ 60.00

Total Direct Costs $ 2400.00

INDIRECT COSTS
Room and Board Allowance $ 6800.00
Book/Supplies Allowance* $ 1400.00
Transportation Allowance $ 1900.00
Miscellaneous Allowance $ 1400.00

Total Indirect Costs $11500.00

TOTAL COST OF ATTENDANCE $13900.00

• In some cases, when books are allowed to be charged on a student’s account, these costs may become direct costs.

Direct costs are paid to the college and must be paid prior to the start of the quarter of attendance unless Financial Aid processing is in place. Federal financial aid is applied to the student account on Census Day (tenth day of each quarter).

The Cost of Attendance budget minus the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) derived as a result of filing a FAFSA form determines a students unmet NEED.

COA $13900.00
Minus EFC 900.00

UNMET NEED $13000.00

The total amount of aid and resources cannot exceed the Coast of Attendance figure when awarding financial aid. Resources include Vocational Rehabilitation, Military/VA Benefits, Workforce Development, and outside scholarships awarded to a student from sources other than the college. Need-based aid cannot exceed the total amount of unmet need as determined by the formula shown above.

AWARDING
Receipt of results from completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will help identify a student seeking financial assistance for their education.

The Financial Aid Office will prepare a Financial Aid Award letter and mail it to a student when receipt and review of the following has been completed.

1. Receipt of the results of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
2. Official notice of acceptance and payment of a program deposit fee into an eligible program of study at Southeast Community College. Students must be in a declared program of study leading to the completion of a diploma or degree offered by Southeast Community College to be eligible for receipt of federal financial aid.
3. Completion and submission of a Financial Aid Questionnaire (pdf 98k) , to the Financial Aid Office.
4. Completion and submission of a Loan Request Form (pdf 237k) and Master Promissory Note (MPN), if applicable, if the student wishes to borrow Federal Student Loans.

Additional submission of paperwork may be necessary if the student has been flagged for Verification. See Verification for more information.