Awarding
Awarding
To be eligible for federal and state programs, students must meet the following criteria:
- Be enrolled in an eligible degree, diploma, or certificate-seeking program
- Have earned a high school diploma or equivalent (required for most programs)
- Not be in default on a loan or owe a repayment of on a previously received grant
- Have a valid Social Security number
- Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen
- Be registered with the Selective Service (males between the ages of 18-25)
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in accordance with OTC policy
- All requested documentation must be on file before disbursements can be made
Federal Title IV regulations require all students to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov to apply for federal financial aid funds. OTC also uses this information to award state scholarship and grant funds and federal work study, as well as institutional funds such as foundation scholarships. Students who are only interested in receiving state funds (such as HOPE scholarship/grant) may complete the State Application at www.gafutures.org.
After receiving your FAFSA, the federal government will send you an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), which lists the answers you provided on the FAFSA. You should carefully review the ISIR and make corrections if needed. An electronic version of your ISIR is sent to OTC from the federal processor if you listed OTC on your FAFSA.
Upon receipt of your FAFSA information from the federal processor, your eligibility review begins. You will be contacted if additional documentation is needed. You may be selected for verification, which will require that you submit additional information to our office before eligibility can be determined. Once the review is complete, your financial aid will be awarded and you can review the award on your MyOTC account. Your initial award will be made to cover three semesters of full-time enrollment (fall/spring/summer).
A financial aid award is based on the following information (this is not an all-inclusive list):
Enrollment Status: Your enrollment status directly impacts your eligibility for certain types of aid. Although the Pell Grant offer (if eligible) will be for full-time enrollment, the Pell Grant payment will be based on the number of hours enrolled, also referred to as “enrollment intensity”. For example, since full-time enrollment is 12 credit hours, if the student is enrolled in 7 hours, the enrollment intensity would be 7 ÷ 12 × 100% = 58.3% (round to 58%).
The HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship or Grant offer (if eligible) will be for 15 hours of enrollment, but the payment amount will be based on the number of hours for which you are enrolled. HOPE Career Grant (if eligible) is awarded for $500 per semester, but is pro-rated down for students taking less than 9 hours.
Federal Direct Student Loans are not available to students at OTC. If you wish to receive a student loan, you may apply for a private student loan. After a loan has been approved and certified in our office, it will be reflected on your financial aid award.
For financial aid purposes, 12 hours is always the minimum number of credits for a student to be considered full-time.
- Residency Status: State funds are only awarded to Georgia residents. If the residency status used to make an award is changed, then your eligibility can subsequently change. You can review your residency status on your MyOTC account.
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): It is a federal and state requirement that you maintain SAP to receive financial aid. A change in your SAP status can impact eligibility.
- Outside Aid: Federal and state regulations require us to consider outside sources of financial assistance when awarding aid. Outside aid can be scholarships (OTC or private), tuition waivers, Veterans benefits, etc. The addition of outside aid later may cause a reduction to be made to an existing financial aid award. If you are the recipient of outside aid not listed on your Financial Aid Award notice, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
IMPORTANT!
If any of the above information is incorrect or changes, students are urged to contact the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. The sooner the aid office learns of any changes, the sooner your financial aid eligibility can be reviewed. It is preferable to do this before financial aid or outside aid is credited to your student account. If it is done later, you may be asked to repay federal or state funds you have already received.