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All AACC students are encouraged to apply for financial aid. There are a number of resources to help you pay for college and our financial aid advisors are here to help you remove the monetary barriers holding you back.
The 2025-26 FAFSA form is now available! The most important step you need to take when seeking financial aid is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completing your FAFSA determines your eligibility for financial aid awards.
The Department of Education redesigned the FAFSA for the 2024-2025 school year as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act.
You can apply for FAFSA for the 2024-2025 school year now.
Learn more about the FAFSA Simplification and how to apply.
Watch this video to learn more about what's changed for the 2024-2025 FAFSA form.
The MHEC One-App is available to students. It will include a section for any applicants who are ineligible to complete the Free Application for Federal Student (FAFSA).
Learn more about all financial assistance programs offered through MHEC.
Mid-July: Fall term book vouchers will be issued.
Watch your MyAACC email for information.
Aug. 15: FAFSA late application deadline for fall term
FAFSAs received by AACC on or after this date will not hold your fall registration. You must make the required down payment at this time.
Sept. 1: Fall disbursements begin after this date.
Financial aid will be disbursed after course start dates and drop deadlines, and after attendance has been confirmed. You also must meet all eligibility requirements as notified by our office and the specific requirements for each award offer.
Dec. 1: Priority deadline for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals for the fall term
Appeals received after the priority deadline are not guaranteed to be reviewed by the end of the term. This may impact your eligibility for financial aid if you are currently enrolled.
December: FAFSA opens for upcoming school year.
Apply at studentaid.gov.
Mid-December: Winter/spring term book vouchers issued.
Watch your MyAACC email for information.
Jan. 1: AACC Scholarship Applications open for the upcoming school year.
Visit the Scholarships webpage for information.
Jan. 2: Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) evaluated on fall term academic progress for financial aid students.
Students may need to appeal with the financial aid office to receive financial aid for spring term.
Jan. 15: FAFSA late application deadline for spring term
FAFSAs received by AACC on or after this date will not hold your spring term registration. You must make the required down payment at this time.
Feb. 1: Spring disbursements will begin after this date.
Financial aid will be disbursed after course start dates and drop deadlines, and after attendance has been confirmed. In addition, you must meet all eligibility requirements as notified by our office and the specific requirements for each award offer.
March 1: MHEC deadline for FAFSA and MSFAA completion for the coming school year
To be eligible for Maryland scholarships, grants and the Maryland Promise, you must submit your FAFSA or MSFAA by March 1.
March 1: Priority deadline for AACC scholarship application
Applications received by this date will receive priority consideration for AACC scholarships.
Mid- to Late March: Financial aid office will start the FAFSA reviews for the coming school year.
Watch your MyAACC email for information and next steps.
May 1: Priority deadline for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals for the spring term
Appeals received after the priority deadline are not guaranteed to be reviewed by the end of the term. This may impact your eligibility for financial aid if you are currently enrolled.
Early April: Summer term book vouchers issued.
Watch your MyAACC email for information.
May 20: Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) evaluated on spring academic progress for financial aid students.
Students may need to appeal with the financial aid office to receive financial aid for the summer term.
June 1: Summer disbursements begin after this date.
Financial aid will be disbursed after course start dates and drop deadlines, and after attendance has been confirmed. In addition, you must meet all eligibility requirements as notified by our office and the specific requirements for each award offer.
Early to mid-June: Financial aid office will start emailing financial aid offer letters for the coming school year.
Watch your MyAACC email for information and next steps.
August 1: Priority deadline for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals for the summer term
Appeals received after the priority deadline are not guaranteed to be reviewed by the end of the term. This may impact your eligibility for financial aid funds if you are currently enrolled.
Aug. 28: Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) evaluated on summer academic progress for financial aid students.
Students may need to appeal with the financial aid office to receive aid for the coming fall term.
If you have questions about your financial aid, you can email our office, call or visit us in person during our open office hours at Arnold, Glen Burnie Town Center or AACC at Arundel Mills.
Learn more about our in-person service hours.
Fax: 410-777-4019
Email: finaid@qqzhangui.com
Call: 410-777-2203
Student Services Building Room 160
101 College Parkway
Arnold, MD 21012
Financial Aid at Arundel Mills
7009 Arundel Mills Circle Room 105F
Hanover, MD 21076
Financial Aid at Glen Burnie Town Center
101 N. Crain Highway Room 209
Glen Burnie, MD 21061
Whether you are preparing to start making student loan payments or you will be making payments for the first time, there are a number of resources available to assist you.
AACC works closely with Student Connections to provide students with the support they need to navigate the loan repayment process. You can learn more about how Student Connections can support you by viewing their We Can Help video and by contacting them at 866-311-9450.
Student Connections is an approved resource used by AACC to help our students with loan repayment.
Beware of Scams
You never have to pay for help with your federal student aid. Emails to borrowers about the loan forgiveness will come from noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov and ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com. You can report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 877-382-4357 or by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Learn more about Federal Direct Loans at AACC.
Departments are hiring! AACC has many opportunities available for students to work on campus through the Federal Work Study Program. Explore current job openings using the Riverhawk CareerConnect. You must complete a FAFSA to get started. Email fws@qqzhangui.com with any questions.
If you need to Submit Documents for Financial Aid to our office, you may do so through U.S. mail, fax, email or by visiting the financial aid office.
Make sure all documents are signed and labeled with your AACC student ID number and that they are for the financial aid office.
We encourage you to submit your documents immediately upon request, even if you are unsure about attending AACC.
Log in to MyAACC and go to Menu > Self Services > Financial Aid to check on your financial aid status. Additional emails will be sent to your MyAACC account to help you through the financial aid process.
Financial Aid Self Services allows students to:
Review our Financial Aid Self-Services Tutorial to learn how to navigate the financial aid process online.
The U.S. Department of Education defines specific criteria students must meet in order to be considered “independent” for financial aid purposes. If you do not meet these criteria, you may request that the school’s financial aid office reevaluate your dependency status.
A dependency appeal is the process the school uses to review your situation and determine if you are eligible to be considered independent. This can only be done in unusual circumstances.
The term unusual circumstances refers to conditions that justify a financial aid administrator making an adjustment to a student's dependency status based on a unique situation, more commonly referred to as a dependency override.
Parental unwillingness or inability to contribute is not considered a unique circumstance, neither is living on your own and paying for your own expenses.
Learn more about Dependency Status for financial aid purposes.
The FAFSA determines each student's or family's financial need based on their income and benefits that were reported. However, we understand that situations change and our office is able to reevaluate your financial aid offer under certain circumstances. The criteria for this review is very specific and must be documented.
The term special circumstances refers to the financial situations that justify an aid administrator adjusting elements on the FAFSA to recalculate a financial aid offer.
Eligible AACPS students who submit an Early College Access Program (ECAP) Funding Request Form, available through Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS), and have it approved by their school will no longer be charged tuition and fees.
Eligible Maryland homeschooled students or students who attend a private school in Maryland can take classes with a 25% tuition discount.
Note: Graduating seniors are not eligible for ECAP discounts for summer term courses.
Learn more about the Early College Access Program at AACC.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) covers the cost of required materials for all AACPS students who have submitted an ECAP form.
Questions should be directed to websales@qqzhangui.com or 410-777-2082.
You cannot receive aid from two schools during the same term. If you are attending two schools during the same term, you must request all your aid from one school. That is your "home" school. The other is your "host" or "visited" school. If you will be transferring your host school credits back to your home school, your home school may be able to process your financial aid for the term, based on your combined enrollment at both schools. If AACC will be your home school, email our office to about your situation before you submit any forms. You may need to complete a Consortium Agreement before we can process your financial aid for the term.
This process is only beneficial if you need us to count the host school credits to receive your aid. For example, assume you had 6 credits here and 3 credits at another school. If you had a Pell Grant, Pell awards are generally larger for 9 credits than 6. Student loans, however, only require 6 credits. So, if you already had 6 credits here, there would be no reason to complete the adjustment process. Dually enrolled students still must make tuition payment arrangements with the visited school because the visited school may not allow you to defer your payment to them.
Pell Grants are available year-round. You can view your eligibility for the summer term now. To see your “Financial Aid Award” on Financial Aid Self-Services, visit the MyAACC portal.
Amounts are prorated based on the number of credits you enroll for in the summer term. All other eligibility requirements must be met to receive a disbursement.
Federal Direct Loans are available year-round. You must be enrolled in at least 6 credits for the summer term and meet all other eligibility criteria.
If you need a loan for the summer term, register for classes then complete the Summer Federal Direct Loan Request Form to start the summer loan process at AACC. The Summer Direct Loan Form is made available in late spring and can be found by viewing your “Offer Letter” on Financial Aid Self- Services through the MyAACC portal.
To be evaluated for financial aid at AACC for summer, you must update your FAFSA and add AACC's Federal School Code so we can have your information sent to our office.
If you already filed your FAFSA, you must go back and add our Federal School Code: 002058. To add the code online, use your FSA ID and password and log in to the FAFSA website. To add the code by phone, get the DRN number listed on your Student Aid Report and call the federal processor (800-4FED-AID). Federal grants and loans can't be directly transferred from one school to another. When our office receives your FAFSA data, we will evaluate your eligibility for loans and grants for summer.
Our office will email any requests for additional required documentation through your AACC email. You also may check your status by logging into MyAACC.
Be sure to respond immediately to any requests and call us if you have any questions.
You must file a FAFSA every year for the next academic year (fall, spring and summer). If you haven't filed this year's FAFSA yet, just add the new school code on the FAFSA when you complete it.
Each school and aid agency sets its own FAFSA deadlines. At many schools, you must submit your FAFSA by Feb. 15 to qualify for school-based funds. The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) only awards state aid to students who submit their FAFSA by March 1. You should use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when completing the process as it provides the most accurate income information on the FAFSA. If you are unable to use it, follow the instructions and have your tax forms available for reference.
If you already filed your FAFSA, you must go back and add the new school code to it. To add the code online, use your FSA ID and password and go to the FAFSA website. To add the code by phone, get the DRN number listed on your Student Aid Report and call the federal processor (800-4FED-AID). Federal grants and loans can't be directly transferred from one school to another. When your new school receives your FAFSA data, it will evaluate your eligibility for loans and grants from them for the rest of the academic year.
If you will be switching schools in the middle of the academic year, you also must ask your old school to cancel any loans they already have processed for the rest of the academic year. If you don't cancel your loans at the old school, the lender still may send your loan funds to the old school. Then it will take three to six weeks to return the funds before they can be reissued to your new school.
If you receive aid from the Maryland Higher Education Commission, you must contact them and ask them to transfer your state awards to the new school.
In accordance with state regulations, students enrolled in a degree or certificate program who are requesting the Social Security tuition waiver must annually file and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) no later than March 1 of the award year. Include the AACC school code 002058.
Prior to the first scheduled day of class, students must provide a current Benefit Verification Letter from the Social Security Administration (or Railroad Retirement Board or former federal employer) to the cashier's office cashiersoffice@qqzhangui.com. Benefit Verification Letters are valid for one year from the date of the letter.
Awarded grants and scholarships will be applied first to pay tuition. The waiver will only be applied if grants and scholarships do not cover the full-term tuition charge. Student loans or Federal Work-Study funds are not a grant or scholarship and therefore not considered. Fees not covered under the Social Security Tuition Waiver and any remaining tuition charges must be paid on or before the due date.
Learn more about Tuition Waivers and Reductions for Credit Students.
“I wasn't the best student in school, and we're not in the most financially needy family, but we still got my whole tuition for the school year covered,” Sarah DiPietro said. The Maryland Promise Scholarship was created to fill in the gaps for students who have too much income for need-based grants, but not enough to pay for college without loans.
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