Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Know if I am Eligible?

New guidelines from the State of Arizona explicitly state our responsibilities in establishing residency and eligibility requirements for all students seeking admissions, financial aid, and other college services. Download and print those guidelines here. We have also provided the list of acceptable documentation for students seeking to establish residency status. Read the stated criteria carefully. Each listed scholarship clearly states what is required for the award. Go to the Scholarship List now.

What Happens When I Receive My Money?

After you have successfully applied and been awarded a scholarship, the information is sent to the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office to be added to your student financial record. Scholarships have specific requirements for disbursement, and some scholarships may not allow a refund. If there are any additional criteria you must meet before receiving your monies, you will be notified by Financial Aid and Scholarship Office and/or the donor group or organization.

However, if the scholarship allows a refund you will be sent a notification through your student message center (redirect.maricopa.edu/student-center).

When your record has been updated you will receive notification that your scholarship money is available as a disbursement (refund). Your refund will be processed through the Maricopa Student Refund Program (MSRP). Through this program you have the option to receive your refund through a check, debit card or direct deposit. For additional information on MSRP please visit https://www.maricopa.edu/students/tuition-payment-information/student-re....

Please note that public assistance, transit subsidies, federal financial aid, grants, loans and other stipends can be affected by the amount of scholarship monies you receive. Financial Aid is responsible for coordinating this information.

What if I Receive Private Scholarships from a Donor Outside of MCC?

Please notify the Financial Aid Office that you will be receiving a scholarship to ensure your scholarship is processed in a timely manner and avoid any class cancellations. Please provide a copy of your scholarship award letter to our office. The scholarship award letter is usually provided to you by the donor and it usually indicates the amount of your scholarship and any specific criteria that your scholarship may require such as full-time enrollment, program of study, etc.

Once a scholarship award letter is submitted to our office, we will extend your tuition due date up to seven weeks after the semester has begun as a courtesy to allow enough time for your scholarship to be processed.

If the scholarship funds from the donor are not received by this date, you will be responsible for any balance due to the college. Otherwise, you may be withdrawn from your classes for non-payment and you will incur a debt. If you plan to attend another institution, you must make the necessary arrangements to cancel your classes before your refund deadline date and notify the donor of this change.

If I Receive a Scholarship will it Affect my Financial Aid?

In some instances when you are awarded a scholarship after your financial aid has been awarded an over award may occur. This means that the total of your awards exceed your cost of attendance.

Example: Full time independent (as classified by FAFSA) student living off campus.
$15,552 ..... Cost of Attendance
- $0 ..... Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
$15,552 ..... Financial Need
- $5,645 ..... Pell Grant
- $1,000 ..... SEOG
- $3,500 ..... Subsidized Loan
- $5,407 ..... Unsubsidized Loan
$0 ..... Unmet Financial Need - Financial need is determined by deducting your EFC from the cost of attendance.

The example above indicates a total unmet financial need of $0. If a scholarship is issued after the financial aid has been awarded in excess of the unmet financial need we are required by federal regulations to adjust the non-need based aid (loans). If a $2000 scholarship is issued then we would have to determine the amount of the overaward ($0 unmet financial need -$2000 scholarship = -$2000). Based on the negative amount we would reduce the unsubsidized loan by $2000 in order to award the full amount of the scholarship.

In the case of an overaward, federal regulations require MCC to adjust non-need based aid (loans) to correct the overaward. In some cases the adjustment may result in a reduction of a loan or other aid excluding the Pell grant in order to award the scholarship which is the free money in place of the loan.

If your residency status changes from out of state to instate this will change your cost of attendance, therefore, reducing your financial need.