How Financial Aid Works

Financial aid exists to help students who can't afford the full cost of college. Mt. San Antonio College offers a variety of financial aid programs for full- and part-time students, including grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships.

[EMBED WHAT IS AID VIDEO: http://mtsanantonio.financialaidtv.com/#playlist-1791:video-1]

Financial aid is available to help you with the cost of college, which includes tuition and fees, books, supplies, food, housing, transportation, and even childcare. Different types of financial aid can help cover different costs. It's also important to remember that most financial aid resources are intended to add to, not replace, the financial resources of the student and his or her family.

How to Find and Apply for Financial Aid

The majority of state, federal, and college financial aid programs have been established to help students with documented financial need. This means that our Financial Aid Office must evaluate the student's (and the family's) ability to pay for college costs in order to distribute our financial aid resources fairly. To do this, the vast majority of colleges, including Mt. SAC, use the FAFSA or the California (CA) Dream Act Application to determine their students' financial need. Learn more about determining financial need here. [LINK TO DETERMINING FINANCIAL NEED PAGE]

College students across the country complete the FAFSA, and California students complete the CA Dream Act Application, each and every year to be considered for financial aid from federal and/or state governments, as well as their own colleges. Every student interested in financial aid must complete the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act Application every year they are in school. January 1st of the first year you plan to go to college is the first day you can file the FAFSA.

[EMBED FAFSA/APPLY EACH YEAR VIDEO: http://mtsanantonio.financialaidtv.com/#playlist-1264:video-4]

[EMBED CA DREAM ACT APPLICATION: http://mtsanantonio.financialaidtv.com/#playlist-9711:video-0]

Financial aid resources are limited, and in many cases are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. So you should complete and file your FAFSA and/or the CA Dream Act Application as close to January 1st as possible in that first year and every year after that.

Learn more about how to apply for financial aid. [LINK TO APPLYING FOR AID PAGE]

Resources and Types of Aid Available

Financial aid can come in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study programs. To get the most financial aid possible, we recommend our students complete their FAFSA and/or the CA Dream Act Application as soon as possible, and then explore and apply for other options, such as scholarships [LINK TO SCHOLARSHIPS SECTION].

Another helpful resource in exploring the different types of financial aid is our Net Price Calculator. The "net price" of college is the real price that a student pays -- the cost minus the financial aid awards you might qualify for. The Net Price Calculator can help you estimate the true cost of attending college at Mt. SAC and give you an idea of the types of financial aid awards you qualify for. You can find out more about and use our net price calculator here.

Learn more about the types of financial aid available. [LINK TO TYPES OF AID PAGE]