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Apply for Financial Aid

Applying for financial aid consist of five steps. 

  1. Create an FSA ID for all people who will be on the FAFSA. These people are referred to as Contributors through the instructions below.
  2. Complete your FAFSA. FAFSA is a federal financial aid application.
  3.  Complete your TAP application. TAP is the first New York State application.
  4. Explore other grants and scholarships:
    1. Complete your SUNY Schenectady Foundation Scholarship application. There is a deadline for this application so do not delay.
    2. For those attending college for the first time, be sure to complete your Excelsior Scholarship application.
    3. Review the list of other grant and scholarship award. Apply for as many as you would like.
  5. Follow up with the Financial Aid Office after finishing your applications to submit required documents and finalize your financial aid eligibility.

Below are instructions for all five steps. Reach out if you need help! The Financial Aid Staff is ready to help in any way they can.

Whether you’re a student, parent, or borrower, you’ll need to create your own account to apply for, receive, and manage your federal student aid. Anyone (student, the student's spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on the FAFSA form—will need to create a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section of the FAFSA form. Contributors will access their StudentAid.gov account by using their FSA ID (account username and password).

The Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) is a username and password that will be utilized to sign your FAFSA and is used to access other student aid websites such as studentaid.gov. Here are the steps to create an FSA ID: 

  1. Go to studentaid.gov/fsa-id
  2. Click Create an Account
  3. Click Get Started, you will be redirected to the FSA ID creation page
    • Enter name, date of birth, and social security number
    • Create a username, enter contributor’s email address, and create a password (case specific)

Each contributor must have their own unique account, which will require their own email address and phone number.

  • Enter contributors mailing address and phone number
  • Enter communication preferences
  • Set up challenge questions
  • Confirm and verify information, review terms and conditions
  • Retrieve Secure Code to verify e-mail and phone number. Do not skip this step

4. Be sure to write down the FSA ID, password, and backup code, keep it in a safe place, as it will be utilized each time the contributor accesses studentaid.gov.

IMPORTANT: If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid.

To complete the contributor's portion of the FAFSA form, the contributor will

  • create an FSA ID account if they don't already have one.
  • receive an email informing them that they've been identified as a contributor.
  • review information about completing their section of the FAFSA form; and
  • provide the required personal information, financial information, consent, and approval on the student's FAFSA form.

Note: It takes three to four business days for the FSA ID to be verified by the Social Security Administration. You will be unable to use your account until it has been verified.

Students Attending Summer 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025 Complete 2024/2025 Financial Aid Applications Using 2022 Taxes

Students Attending Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026 Complete 2025/2026 Financial Aid Applications Using 2023 Taxes

To complete your FAFSA follow these steps:

  1. Go to studentaid.gov/fafsa
  2. Click Start New Form
  3. Enter your FSA ID (which the student created in Step 1 of these instructions)
  4. Verify Demographics and Accept Conditions
  5. Choose I am the student and want to access the FAFSA form
  6. Click Continue
  7. Review the Understanding the FAFSA Form How to Videos or click continue to bypass until you see Start FAFSA Form
  8. Student Identity Information: Student general information. Review the information and verify that it’s correct for the student before moving forward.
  9. Student State of Legal Residence
  10. Consent and Approval. Student MUST provide consent and Approval to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form or the student will not be eligible for federal student aid. Read consent disclosure and click approve to continue.
  11. There are five tabs to complete the FAFSA:
  12. Your Personal Circumstances. Students will be asked questions that help to determine eligibility for federal student aid. Sometimes this will require information from other people. The system will determine if information is required.
  13. If necessary, an email invitation will be sent to contributors inviting them to provide their information. It is highly recommended that you only complete the “Parent Who Will Fill Out This Form” box.  Information MUST match the parent contributor information they created in Step 1.
  14. Click Invite Parent to the FAFSA Form and click continue
  15. Student Demographics
  16. Student Finances
  17. Colleges: Students can select up to twenty schools to automatically receive an electronic copy of the FAFSA form
  18. Choose the “Search by School Code” tab
  19. Enter the SUNY Schenectady school code of 006785
  20. Sign & Submit: Take a Moment to Review Before Signing
  21. Click Check Box to agree to Terms
  22. Click Sign and Submit

Dependent Students: 

All contributors are now invited to provide their information and consent when a student completes their FAFSA application. While contributors are not financially responsible, your student will be ineligible for financial aid without your help.

To get started, navigate to the email invitation you received from donotreply@studentaid.gov.

  1. Click Get Started
  2. Enter your FSA ID (which was created in Step 1 of these instructions)
  3. Verify Demographics and Accept Conditions
  4. Click Accept Invitation to get started.
  5. If you decline your invitation, your student will be unable to obtain federal student aid to pay for school.
  6. Clicking accept, and providing information as a contributor does not make you financially responsible for educational costs
  7. Click Continue
  8. Review the Understanding the FAFSA Form How to Videos or click continue to bypass until you see Start FAFSA Form
  9. Parent Identity Information: parent general information. Review the information and verify that it’s correct for the parent before moving forward.
  10. There are three tabs to complete the FAFSA:
    • Parent Demographics. Parent will be asked questions about themselves and their family situation to help to determine student’s eligibility for federal student aid. 
    • Parent Finances. Parent will be asked questions about their financial information. Sometimes this will require information from other people. The system will determine if information is required.
  1. If necessary, an email invitation will be sent to parent spouse’s this information MUST match the parent contributor information created in Step 1.
  2. Click Continue
    • Sign & Submit: Take a Moment to Review Before Signing
  1. Click Check Box to agree to Terms
  2. Click Sign and Submit

The TAP Application is the next financial aid application students should complete. It is highly recommended that students apply for New York state-based aid. 

Non-resident or non-citizen students are encouraged to apply for TAP through the NY State Dream Application.

To complete the TAP application, follow these steps:

  1. Go to ny.gov/tap (Higher Education Services Corporation) ***This application is best completed on a computer***
  2. Scroll down under the heading “Didn’t Apply for TAP through the FAFSA?” Click “Apply for TAP”
  3. Click on the “Start My Application” button
  4. Login or First-Time users click here to register with HESC
  5. Verify contact information
  6. Follow the prompts to apply

When adding our school type ONLY Schenectady and click search.   Our school will not populate if you choose any other options.

  • If dependent, be sure to have your parents’ driver’s license numbers when completing the application as this is how they will electronically sign it.
  • If Independent, please carefully read the dependency questions as you should be answering “YES” to claiming independence from your parent.

Once your FAFSA is submitted, the College will receive your results in three to four business days. In some cases, the student will need to turn in additional forms to finalize their financial aid.

An e-mail will be sent from the Financial Aid Office to the e-mail address the student listed on FAFSA. Students must monitor their e-mail regularly for updates on their financial aid.

To view your outstanding items, follow these steps:

  1. Go to https://sunysccc.edu
  2. Select Records and Registration from the home page (under the picture)
  3. Choose Send ADA accommodation letters & Financial Aid prospective students-CLICK HERE
  4. Log in (Using your user ID which is your student ID#, starts with 900 and PIN)
  5. Choose Financial Aid for Prospective Students
    • Choose Student Requirements to review any unsatisfied requirements that need to be submitted to the financial aid office to finalize your FAFSA application (if applicable).
    • Choose Award by Aid Year to review your award package (once all requirements have been completed).

All documents should be submitted directly to the financial aid office and can be sent by fax, email, or delivered in person.

E-mail: financialaid@sunysccc.edu
Fax: 518-381-1477
Office: Elston Hall, Welcome Center, Window III

If you complete any of the New York State applications, it can take up to eight weeks for the College to receive the application results. New York State will contact the student via email with status updates on the application. Students must monitor their e-mail regularly for updates on their financial aid.


 

Financial aid regulations require that students must be accepted for admission into a degree or certificate program. Any questions about the SUNY Schenectady admissions criteria can be addressed to the Admissions Office at 518-381-1366 or admissions@sunysccc.edu.

The Financial Aid Office recognizes that some students and/or parents may have unusual or extenuating circumstances that may complicate the completion of their financial aid application.  In the following cases, the student may need to talk to a financial aid advisor before submitting their FAFSA.

  • The student is dependent using financial aid criteria, but the student believes they should be independent due to special circumstances.
  • The FAFSA uses the prior-prior year family income to determine financial aid eligibility. Some students and/or parents may experience unusual or special circumstances (e.g., significant decrease in family income, loss of employment, death in family, separation/divorce, etc.) that would mean that the prior-prior year income would not be a good indicator of the family’s current financial status. It may be possible for the Financial Aid Office to make adjustments to the family income.