Whatcom Community College offers multiple scholarship opportunities each year and also advertises general scholarships available through other agencies. You can review a list of "active" scholarships and obtain application information by visiting the kiosk outside our office, located in Laidlaw Center, room 135.

Financial Aid Services offered at Whatcom Community College

Whatcom Community College offers multiple scholarship opportunities each year and also advertises general scholarships available through other agencies

Programs that enable students who can demonstrate financial need to obtain cash awards (which do not need to be repaid) to help support the cost of their education. Included are Pell Grants and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants which are funded by the state, and Grants-in-Aid (GIAs) which are usually made available by the educational institution.

Educational Grants

Programs that provide cash assistance for people who need additional financial support to pursue an educational or vocational program of study. Also included are programs that forgive past unpaid tuition fees for current or returning students who meet eligibility criteria.

Tuition Assistance

Programs that provide loan funds to meet the financial needs of students for whom grants and other forms of aid are inadequate or unavailable. Student loans are available at attractive interest rates (usually three to nine percent) and repayment is not required until after the student has completed school. Most student loans are federal Stafford Loans which have two variations: federally guaranteed Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) that can be obtained from banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions or other financial institutions; and loans from the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP) which are provided to students and their parents directly by the federal government. Stafford Loans may be subsidized (the government pays the interest while the student is in school) or unsubsidized (the student must pay the interest either while in school or following graduation, if deferred). Other options include PLUS loans (federal loans to parents of dependent undergraduate students), state government loans, loans from the educational institution or private donors, and loans that are designated for students who are pursuing specific courses of study (e.g., nursing, medicine, law).

Student Loans

Programs that provide or assist students to apply for awards which usually involve money and/or reduced tuition. Included are both needs-based scholarships which are awarded to outstanding students who are in financial need and honorary scholarships which are awarded on the basis of merit alone and normally carry a nominal monetary award. Scholarship funds come from many sources including private endowments, alumni contributions, college or university funds, individual departments or outside organizations.

Scholarships

Operates a website clearinghouse of grants, loans, financial aid and other benefits available from the federal government to people who qualify.

Federal Benefits Information offered at USA.gov

Operates a website clearinghouse of grants, loans, financial aid and other benefits available from the U.S. government to people who qualify.

A federal program established by the Civil Service Retirement Act which provides regular cash benefits for qualified federal employees who retire because of age and years of service, involuntary separation not for cause, or disability.

Civil Service Retirement Benefits

Programs that provide information and guidance for eligible individuals who need assistance in determining whether they qualify for the federal Hope Scholarship Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit, both of which allow individuals to take a tax credit for postsecondary education expenses. Education credits are subtracted from the individual's tax, but are non-refundable, i.e., the credit amount cannot exceed a family's tax liability, and no benefit is provided to families whose incomes are so low that they have no income tax liability.

Federal Education Tax Credit Information

Programs that provide venture capital, loans or grants or other forms of financial support for individuals or groups who want to establish or expand the operation of a business.

Business Financing

Programs that provide information and guidance for eligible individuals who need assistance in determining whether they qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit program which allows for the deduction of payments for some types of home care, child care and adult day care services when such care is necessary to allow the individual to work. Service recipients must be children younger than age 13 or a spouse or other dependent of any age who is incapacitated. The credit amount cannot exceed a family's tax liability, and no benefit is provided to families whose incomes are so low that they have no income tax liability.

Federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Information

A program administered by the U.S. Department of Defense that provides retirement benefits to members of any of the branches of the military within DoD who have 20 cumulative years of active service. Retirees are eligible to receive benefits immediately regardless of their age at the point of retirement.

Military Retirement Benefits

Provides financial aid to students attending Everett Community College. Most grant programs are from limited annual allocations and award priority is determined by financial need. The college also provides scholarships, student loans, and work study programs.

Student Financial Services offered at Everett Community College

Provides financial aid to low-income students attending Everett Community College.

Provides federal grants, loans, and work-study funds for college or career school. Also helps residents apply for public service loan forgiveness as well as enroll in an Income-Driven Repayment Plan.

Federal Student Aid offered by U.S. Department of Education

Programs that offer alternative arrangements for repayment of student loans under specified circumstances when borrowers are having trouble making their regular payments. Included are deferment programs which allow the individual to postpone repayment of the loan for an agreed period of time, generally with no interest accrual; forbearance arrangements which involve temporary postponement of payment on the principle but continued payment of the interest or capitalization of the interest (folding it into the principle); loan repayment programs under which the individual's employer (often the military or federal employer) or another organization makes loan payments on behalf of the individual up to a specified limit; and loan forgiveness programs which involve cancellation of all or a portion of the loan amount in exchange for military service, volunteer work, teaching in schools that serve low-income families, work in a public interest law firm or meeting other criteria specified by the forgiveness program. Individuals in the U.S.who are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or nonprofit organization might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), a federal effort that forgives student loan debt for nonprofit employees after 120 qualifying payments. For a limited period of time, people eligible for the PSLF program may receive credit for past periods of repayment on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. Borrowers can also make other arrangements with the lender including more affordable payment plans and loan consolidation.

Student Loan Forgiveness/Repayment Programs

Need-based programs funded by the federal government or individual educational institutions which allow students to work a specified number of hours per week while attending school and full-time during vacations in order to finance their education.  Work-study awards range from $600 to $4500 and students are not permitted to earn more than the award amount.

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Financial Aid Services offered at Whatcom Community College

Federal Benefits Information offered at USA.gov

Student Financial Services offered at Everett Community College

Federal Student Aid offered by U.S. Department of Education