Upcoming Financial Aid Presentation


What: A representative from the Financial Aid Office at Northland Community and Technical College will be presenting on all the new changes to the financial aid process.  This information is applicable to all college-bound students no matter which post-secondary school they are planning to attend.

When: Wednesday, October 8th

Location: MCC High School Library

Time: 6:00p

​Who Should Attend: Seniors and their parents/guardians

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​How to Apply for Financial Aid
studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out

If you are planning on attending college next year AND haven't yet applied for financial aid, here is what you need to do.

Step One: YOU and at least one parent need to EACH create a StudentAid.gov Account.

Please note, after creating your StudentAid.gov account, it could take up to a week before your information is registered in the system.  After that, you can start your FAFSA (financial aid) application.  Another thing to be aware of is that you and your parent need to enter separate email addresses when creating an individual account (no shared emails). You should not use your MCC email because your access to that goes away after you graduate.  Students seeking financial aid, have to reapply each year they are in college.  If you ever have trouble logging into your FAFSA account, a link to reset your password will go to the email that you used to set it up.

What is a StudentAid.gov Account?
Dependent students and a parent must each create an account. Your StudentAid.gov account is used to confirm your identity when accessing your financial aid information and electronically signing your federal student aid documents. This account will be used for the lifetime of your loan and each year you apply for Financial Aid. 

Items needed to create your StudentAid.gov account:
  •  Social Security number
  •  Full name
  •  Date of birth

To create your StudentAid.gov account, go here: studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

Step Two: Using tax returns from the 2025 tax year, you and both of your parents (if you live with both) fill out your financial aid information on the FAFSA form. Not to try and confuse you, but only ONE parent needs to create a StudentAid.gov account but if you live with both parents...you will need to include BOTH of their tax information on your FAFSA.  You will also need to include your tax information as well if you worked in 2025 and filed taxes.

Please note, there are special requirements for which parent needs to provide tax information if you don't live with both parents.  For example, if your parents are divorced and you only live with one parent, only the one parent who provides your primary support will be required to enter tax information on your FAFSA.  In this scenario, if that parent is also remarried, your step-parent's tax information would also be included.  If you are confused about any of this, either reach out to the Financial Aid Office at the college you will be attending, or speak with Ms. Anderson.  Specific information on all of this is found on your FAFSA application as well.


FAFSA: FREE APPLICATION for FEDERAL STUDENT AID
To apply for financial aid, you must complete the FAFSA. The form is available after October 1rst online at studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. The FAFSA is used to determine eligibility for aid, which can include grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study.

Through information obtained on the FAFSA, your EFC (expected family contribution) will be calculated. This is the amount of money your family is expected to contribute for college costs. From there, grants, loans and work-study are awarded to meet the remaining need. These funds can come from federal, state, and private sources.  


FREE PUBLICATIONS
ohe.mn.gov/paying-college

ohe.mn.gov/sites/default/files/2025-09/OHE-PayingForCollege-DIGITAL_ADA.pdf

TYPES OF AID
studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types


GRANTS and SCHOLARSHIPS
studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants
studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/scholarships

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LOANS
studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans


WORK STUDY
studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/work-study


ESTIMATE YOUR FINANCIAL AID 
studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/

This is a tool that you can use before officially applying for financial aid. It will provide you with an estimate of your EFC (estimated family contribution) and determine what types of federal grants, loans, and work-study you might qualify for (along with a projected award amount for each).


GUIDANCE ON DEPENDENCY STATUS AND HOW TO COMPLETE
PARENT INFORMATION
http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/pdf/FAFSA_SpecialGuidance.pdf
studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency
http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/pdf/MaritalStatusFAFSA.pdf

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TOPICS REGARDING ELIGIBILITY AND SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/requirements

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​REPAYING YOUR LOANS
studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment
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Additional 'Paying for College' Resources
www.ohe.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=888