Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

FAFSA completion is the first step in the financial aid process. It is a free application that determines a student's eligibility for federal, state and institutional funding that can help pay for educational expenses such as tuition, course fees, books, supplies, transportation, housing and meals, and other personal expenses. Financial Aid may include a federal grants (Pell and FSEOG), federal direct student loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized), state grants (Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship, Kibbie Grant, Vo-Tech Grant, National Guard Service Scholarship, All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, etc.), federal work study, and NICC scholarships. More than 80 percent of NICC students receive some sort of financial aid. For more information on the FAFSA, view this brief overview video.

The FAFSA should be completed for each school year that a student plans to attend college. It is available beginning October 1 for the following school year. Iowa residents should complete the FAFSA on or before July 1* each year to be considered for grants from Iowa College Aid that include the Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship, Iowa Kibbie Grant & Iowa Vocational Technical Grant. *FAFSA filing deadline is subject to change per Iowa College Aid for each new school year.

The FAFSA application asks students which colleges they want to send their information to. NICC has one federal school code listed under Northeast Iowa Community College that incorporates the Peosta, Dubuque and Calmar campuses along with all of the centers.

Northeast Iowa Community College Federal School Code = 004587

Note: the Federal School Code specific to the Peosta Campus, 012634,  is no longer used and is replaced with 004587. 

Helpful FAFSA Tips:

• FAFSA help is available at studentaid.gov/fafsa
• Each student is required to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID  - This is your FAFSA user name and password and is used to electronically sign your FAFSA each year you attend college. The FSA ID is also used to make changes to an existing FAFSA and to access other Federal Student Aid websites. 
• If you are a dependent student, one of your parents will also need to create a FSA ID of their own and use their own email address. 
• Federal Income Tax Return information. The FAFSA asks for prior year tax and income information so be sure to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool as an easy way to upload tax information directly into the FAFSA saving time and reducing the chance of errors.

What to expect from NICC regarding your FAFSA:

1. Be sure that you have applied to NICC for Admission and have been accepted into a degree program. Financial Aid eligibility can not be determined until this step is complete.
   
   
2. Approximately one week after you submit your FAFSA, Federal Student Aid will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR) that estimates the amount of financial aid that you may be eligible for.
   
   
3. NICC will notify you via your NICC email, once your FAFSA has been received at the College.
   
   
4. Once you receive notification via email, you may log into Self Service for Students, accessible through MyCampus, and review your Financial Aid Checklist. The Checklist will walk you through the step by step process of completing your financial aid file.
   
   
5. If you have Required Documents to take action on, follow the links and submit the information to NICC as soon as possible. A Financial Aid Counselor is assigned to you to assist you in the enrollment process. You will find their name and contact information at the bottom of your Self Service Financial Aid page.
   
   
6. Once you have completed the steps in your Required Documents and NICC has finished reviewing and processing the information, we will notify you via email (your NICC email address) that your Financial Aid Offer is ready to review in Self Service Financial Aid.
   
   
7. Your Financial Aid Offer (Offer Letter) explains the estimated funding you may be eligible to receive based on full time enrollment (12 or more credits) for a typical academic year that includes two semesters (fall and spring). The actual amounts may vary due to:
   • Less than full-time enrollment - Enrollment level is based on the number of credits you enroll each semester and your amounts may be prorated 
   • Program of study - Certain academic programs qualify for state of Iowa Grants (Kibbie, Vo-Tech, Last Dollar Scholarship) 
   • Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) - You must meet minimum GPA and completion requirements each semester
   • Other eligibility criteria - Contact Student Services for more specifics
     
     
8. Once you have registered for classes, any grant or scholarship money will be automatically applied to your tuition and fees. If students wish to use student loans to finance their education, additional steps are required to accept and receive loans.
   
   
9. View your student account balance in Self Service Student Finance in order to determine the cost per semester. Determine how much aid you have to pay towards your tuition and fees. If you do not have enough, be sure to seek out additional funding and/or sign up for the Nelnet Payment Plan. Be sure to make your payment prior to the tuition due date (approximately one week prior to the start of the semester).
   
   
10. NICC students can use extra financial aid to purchase textbooks, course materials and supplies through the NICC online bookstore. Students can also use excess financial aid for school supplies, tools, NICC apparel and Cafe giftcards at Cougar Clothing and Supplies. You must have more accepted aid than your tuition and fee costs viewable on your account each semester.

Additional assistance regarding the FAFSA:

• Iowa College Access Network (ICAN)
• FAFSA-What Happens Next? video