Financial Aid FAQs

Please email your questions/concerns directly to your assigned FA staff at [email protected]. Disclosure of your FA password and student ID is required. Federal regulations on privacy laws (FERPA) have not been waived and we take seriously that your information is not compromised by making sure that you, the student, is the one receiving your confidential information.

The Department of Education does not have the authority to be lenient regarding compliance requirements related to unit requirements. Financial aid eligibility is verified based on the units you are enrolled in at the Financial Aid Census Day, or  "Freeze Date", for the semester. You must be enrolled half time to remain eligible for FA. Unless the class was a late start class that you did not attend, dropping a class will have no effect on your 2nd Pell disbursement, however, it may affect other types of aid yet to be disbursed. For additional information, please contact your assigned FA Office at [email protected]. Disclosure of your FA password and student ID is required.

Unfortunately, the Department of Education does not have the authority to be lenient regarding compliance requirements related to withdrawals. If you withdraw (officially or unofficially- you drop the class on mySDCCD portal - stop attending classes and receive an "F" grade or Incomplete), the Financial Aid Office is required to perform a calculation called the Return of Title IV to determine how much of the FA you received for the term that needs to be returned. The later in the term you withdraw, the more of your financial aid will be considered "earned" and the impact on your financial aid will be smaller.

For additional information or questions, please contact our office at: [email protected]. Disclosure of your FA password and student ID is required.

A student enrolled in online (Web) classes only, with a legal or mailing address that is located outside of California, will be unenrolled and dropped; as a result, the student will not eligible for federal FA. Students that reside in the following U.S. States or Territories are not permitted to enroll:

AL, AK, AR, MD, MN, MO, ND, SC, UT, DC, WY, AS, GU, MH, MP, and PR

Students enrilled in substatially all online classes will be required to provide proof of identity in person at the Financial Aid (FA) Office in order to clear thir first Grant or Loan disbursement. Students that reside outside of San Diego County may provide proof of identity with an original notarized form and signatures which must be delivered to the FA Office. Failure to provide proof of identity will result in a hold on all FA disbursements.

Cal Grant Scam: There have been reports to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) that students are being contacted by individuals claiming to be from CSAC and asking for money in order to receive or reserve their Cal Grant award. 

CSAC will never ask for money or credit card information. Do not provide any information if contacted. 

If you have been a victim or target of this scam, please contact the proper authorities such as College Police or the California Attorney General's Office at 800-952-5225. 

IRS Scam: IRS impersonators are calling people and demanding a "Federal Student Tax". They use threats to intimidate and bully people into paying a tax bill. They may even threaten to arrest, deport, or revoke the driver's license of their victim if they don't get the money. 

For more consumer information on IRS Tax Scams, click HERE.