Can I get help with the FAFSA?
Any student that needs assistance completing their FAFSA can make an appointment with our Lee College Educational Opportunity Center located at 4804 I-10 Suite B, Baytown, TX 77521. To schedule an appointment by phone, please call the office at 832.556.4506.
If you are completing the FAFSA independently, please be sure that you add our school code (003583) to your application. Find the FAFSA application here: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Why do I need parents' information?
The Department of Education has determined that a student’s parents are primarily responsible for their child’s education. Students generally are allowed six years to earn a bachelor’s degree. Therefore, the Department of Education added those six years to the age of 18 and declared that 24 is the age at which a student can become independent.
Why can’t the Financial Aid Office tell me what I can qualify for before I file my FAFSA?
The formula used to calculate the EFC from the FAFSA is very complicated and has many variables besides income, such as household size, the number of students in college, the state tax base (based on the student’s and parent’s state of residency), and allowance percentages that differ from one-income families to two-income families. The Financial Aid staff must see the ISIR or SAR before discussing aid estimates.
When can I get financial aid?
You may apply for financial aid at any time. You must complete a FAFSA for each new school year. To ensure your funds are available for the fall semester, you should complete your FAFSA by April 15, so we can process your file by our June 1 deadline. If you start school in January, the deadline is Nov. 1. Financial aid will be posted to our database as pending when you have completed the process. Funds will be applied to your account after the 12th class day for the fall and spring semesters and after the fourth-class day for summer sessions. See Disbursement and Refund Dates.
How long is the financial aid process?
In 3–5 business days, you will receive an email notifying you that your FAFSA form was processed. Your FAFSA information will be made available to Lee College, and we will use it to determine the aid you may be eligible to receive. If a student is selected for verification and additional documents are requested, the reviewing process may take 4-6 weeks. We advise you to follow up with the Financial Aid office because you may be responsible for your tuition, fees, and books until we can fully process your aid application.
What makes me eligible for a Pell Grant?
Our basic eligibility requirements are that you must:
- Demonstrate financial need for need-based federal student aid programs;
- Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen;
- Have a valid Social Security number;
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program;
- Have a high school diploma or a state-recognized equivalent such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate;
- Complete a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law;
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress in college or career school.
If my EFC is over $6,201, what kind of assistance can I get?
Students who did not qualify for the Pell grant may be eligible for student loans from the FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM, TPEG (or Texas Public Education Grant), or Scholarships.
A loan is money you borrow and must pay back with interest. If you apply for financial aid, you may be offered loans as part of your school’s financial aid offer. When you receive a student loan, you borrow money to attend a college or career school. You must repay the loan as well as the interest that accrues. It is essential to understand your repayment options to repay your loan successfully. To qualify for a loan, these are some additional requirements.
- be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for Direct Loan Program funds;
- sign the certification statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form stating that you’re not in default on a federal student loan, you do not owe money on a federal student grant, and you’ll only use federal student aid for educational purposes; and
- show you’re qualified to obtain a college or career school education.
For additional Federal Student Loan Programs information, see https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/federal-loan-programs.pdf.
TPEG (or Texas Public Education Grant) aid is offered to a limited number of students. The school receives a limited amount of money each year from the state and awards the funds in a first-come, first-served manner.
Scholarships are funds received by the student from mostly non-governmental sources. The scholarship awarded DOES NOT need to be repaid by the student. Some scholarships may be refunded to the student for living expenses, while others may not. The donor of the scholarship tells us whether the scholarship may be refundable. Students wishing to apply for a Foundation scholarship may visit https://lee.academicworks.com. Get more information about our scholarships.
What if I want to apply for loans?
Lee College participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program, in which borrowers obtain loan funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education. The Federal Direct Loan program offers students and parents a stable, streamlined, and predictable borrowing experience.
What should I do?
- New and returning student borrowers are required to eSign a Federal Direct Loan Master Promissory Note.
https://studentaid.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action - All new and returning borrowers are required to complete Federal Direct Loan Entrance Counseling.
https://studentaid.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action
How do I get my financial aid money?
All grants and scholarships are paid directly to the student’s Lee College account. The awards are offered through the PeopleSoft System. The funds must be awarded by the early registration payment deadline for each term for us to ensure that your classes are not lost. After each semester’s record date, the Financial Aid office authorizes the aid amounts, and the Business Office disburses them according to the dates on the disbursement and refund schedule. If the student’s account contains any remaining funds, the student is refunded for that amount. Refunds are typically processed two weeks after the aid has been disbursed.
Where is my refund?
Lee College has partnered with BankMobile to deliver your financial aid refund. We are committed to delivering 100 percent of your refund, providing students with clear choices, and offering excellent customer service. Students should log into their myLC Campus account and, in the Finances Section under MY ACCOUNT, click on “Manage Refund.” Funds will be disbursed or posted to your school account according to the schedule posted at the Business Office, the Financial Aid office, and at www.lee.edu/financialaid/. The Financial Aid office begins processing financial aid payments after the 12th class day, and it takes about 1-2 weeks to finish all the costs. The Business Office has up to 14 days from when we finish processing to release your refund. All refunds will be processed from BankMobile. For more information about BankMobile, visit https://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoicessso/.
What happens to me if I drop a class?
If you drop any class(es) after the census date but still complete a course, you will not be required to pay back any financial aid. If you drop all of your classes in a term, the college must send some of your aid back to the program it came from, and you will have to pay the returned amount back to Lee College if you drop before 60 percent of the term has passed.
All dropped classes may affect your satisfactory academic progress at Lee College. Suppose you drop all your classes in a term. In that case, you will automatically be placed on financial aid suspension and will only be eligible to receive aid once the suspension is overturned by appeal. If you drop only some classes, those dropped classes will be considered as attempted hours when we calculate your progress at the end of every spring. You must complete 67 percent of your overall college credit courses and have a GPA of at least 2.0 to remain in good standing.
What happens if I go on suspension?
It would be best to appeal your suspension by meeting with an advisor to complete the Lee College Satisfactory Progress/Unusual Enrollment Appeal Request Form (PDF). You will submit the appeal form to your Campus Logic account at lee.verifymyfafsa.com. If approved, then your financial aid could be reinstated. Please allow 2-4 weeks for a reinstatement determination.
What do all the acronyms mean?
- FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid — It is the primary application for all student aid programs and the only one Lee College requires.
- EFC: Estimated Family Contribution — The amount that the Department of Education has determined a family should contribute to the student’s education, based on the information submitted in the FAFSA. The lower the number, the more financial need the Department of Education feels a student has and the more aid the student may qualify for.
- COA: Cost of Attendance, otherwise referred to as a student budget. It comprises tuition, fees, and books as direct costs for Lee College and allowances based on national averages for room and board, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses for one academic year. The EFC is subtracted from the budget to determine the amount of aid a student may qualify for during an academic year.
- SAR or ISIR: Student Aid Report or Institutional Student Information Record. Both are printouts containing the information submitted on the FAFSA and the EFC and other information regarding financial aid eligibility. The SAR is mailed OR emailed to the student at home. The ISIR is electronically transmitted to the school.