Types of Financial Aid

Grants are gift-aid that you do not need to repay and may be either federal or state. Grant eligibility is determine by your FAFSA results.  Some grant programs will require additional applications. In addition, most programs require you maintain satisfactory academic progress and be pursuing an aid-eligible major.

Federal Grants

• Federal Pell Grant Program
• Academic Competitiveness Grant
• Federal SEOG Program

State Grants

• Minnesota State Grant Program—Minnesota residency and enrollment of at least three credits per term; FAFSA application must be received by the federal processing center within 30 calendar days of the start of the semester
• ACHIEVE Scholarship  Completed applications must be recieved by August 31, 2010
• Minnesota GI BIll
• Minnesota State Post-Secondary Child Care Program - requires Minnesota residency and an additional application

Loans -  Loan Code of Conduct 

 Federal Loans

The federal loan program requires students and parents (for dependent students) to apply for financial aid with the FAFSA. Students must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits) to qualify for federal loans. There are three types of federal loans:

• Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford & Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan— ARCC awards a maximum of $2400/year; carries a simple interest rate of 5% and a nine-month grace period; requires exceptional need and an early application
• Federal PLUS Loan (PLUS) with a PLUS Supplement

 Private Loans

Many banks and credit unions provide educational loan options, commonly referred to as private loans. These loans may have higher interest rates than federal loans and generally should be considered as a borrowing option after you have considered federal loans.

You may wish to review a list of some lenders that offer private loans. Please note that should you decide to borrow under the private loan program, you may select any lnder of your choosing and are not required to select from this list of lenders.

 Work-Study

• Federal Work-Study (FWS) —Typical award of $4000/year at ARCC, which can be earned working 5-15 hours/week starting at $8.00/hour
• Minnesota State Work-Study (SWS) —Typical award of $4000/year at ARCC which can be earned working 5-15 hours/week starting at $8.00/hour
• Institutional Work-Study—Non-need-based; limited to highly-skilled workers or hard-to-fill jobs

Work-Study: What You Need to Know 

Student Employment Opportunities 

Scholarship Opportunities