• Show exceptional financial need;

• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate;

• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program (Students may not receive aid for correspondence or telecommunications courses unless they are part of an associate, bachelors, or graduate degree program);

• Be an undergraduate student who has not earned a prior bachelors or professional degree;

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen;

• Have a valid Social Security Number;

• Achieve and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress;

• Sign a statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) certifying that federal student aid will only be used for educational purposes;

• Sign a statement on the FAFSA certifying that the student is not in default on a federal student loan and that the student does not owe money back on a federal student grant;

• Register with the Selective Service, if required (If you are a male 18 through 25 years of age and you have not yet registered with Selective Service, you can give Selective Service permission to register you by checking a box on the FAFSA. You can also register on the government website);

• Not be incarcerated in a federal or state penal institution or subject to an involuntary civil commitment upon completion of a period of incarceration for a forcible or non-forcible sexual offense; and

• Not have exceeded lifetime the Pell award limit for up to the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters.

Pell Grants are available on a year-round basis and allocated in three terms: fall, spring, and summer.

The priority deadline for processing summer Pell Grants and all summer financial aid is May 1st.  Grants will be processed after May 1st, but they will be processed in the order in which they are received.

For summer Pell eligibility, summer students must be enrolled at least half-time, which is 6 or more total credit hours for summer (ex:  Student enrolled in 3 hours in Summer I and 3 hours in Summer 2 would be eligible, as would a student enrolled in 6 or more hours in either Summer I or Summer 2).  

Notes:

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in accordance with WCJC's SAP Policy.  

Students who have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and awarded for the fall or spring semesters do not need to complete a new FAFSA for summer. Students who have not completed a FAFSA for the academic year and are seeking financial aid for the summer should complete a FAFSA as soon as possible. See the WCJC website for steps for applying for financial aid.

Students should review information about financial aid freeze dates to determine how increasing or decreasing credit hours during a semester will affect their financial aid award.