(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College will host five free workshops from January through April to help prospective students or their families apply for federal financial aid.
Grants awarded to financially eligible students who complete the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) do not need to be repaid.
“Filing a FAFSA is the single-most important way to get money for college,” said Kimberlee Matthews, BC3’s assistant director of financial aid. The application is used for federal and state grants, the federal work-study program and for federal direct loans, she said.
The free FAFSA workshops will be held on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. Workshops are scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 5 and Jan. 28; from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Feb. 18; from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 14; and from 10 a.m. to noon April 11.
Families or prospective students can RSVP to attend a workshop at bc3.edu/fafsa
Families or prospective students who have created a federal student aid identification, and who bring to the workshop a W-2 form, tax return documents and a Social Security card can complete the FAFSA within 30 minutes, Matthews said.
Those who initiate the federal student aid identification at the workshop should plan on a 60-minute visit, Matthews said.
Part-time students may be eligible
Prospective students who plan to enroll in spring or summer 2023 will file a 2022-2023 FAFSA. They or their families must use 2020 tax returns and 2020 W-2 forms.
Prospective students who plan to enroll in fall 2023 will file a 2023-2024 FAFSA. They or their families must use 2021 tax returns and 2021 W-2 forms.
Upon submitting the completed FAFSA online to the U.S. Department of Education, a student can review his or her eligibility on the confirmation page, Matthews said.
Prospective students should file the FAFSA by May 1 to meet the Pennsylvania State Grant deadline. State grants, like federal grants, also do not need to be repaid, Matthews said.
“Filing a FAFSA is the single-most important way to get money for college.”
In the 2020-2021 academic year, 82 percent of BC3’s first-time, full-time students received financial aid, and only 32 percent used a federal student loan, according to the most recent information available from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Navigator.
BC3 students in that year received an average of $4,000 in federal or state grants, according to Juli Louttit, the college’s director of financial aid.
Part-time students pursuing at least six credits may also be also eligible for federal and state financial grants upon completing the FAFSA, Matthews said.
Scholarship applications begin April 15
In the 2022-2023 academic year, financially eligible BC3 students from Butler County could receive a maximum of $6,895 in a federal Pell Grant and of $2,201 in a Pennsylvania State Grant. Tuition and fees for BC3 students from Butler County pursuing 15 credits each semester in the 2022-2023 academic year cost $5,310 for in-person classes.
Financially eligible BC3 students from Pennsylvania counties other than Butler in the 2022-2023 academic year could receive a maximum of $6,895 in a federal Pell Grant and of $3,798 in a Pennsylvania State Grant. Tuition and fees for BC3 students from Pennsylvania counties other than Butler pursuing 15 credits each semester in the 2022-2023 academic year cost $8,400 for in-person classes.
The BC3 Education Foundation in the 2022-2023 academic year awarded a record $280,000 in scholarships. Students who have registered for fall 2023 academic courses can apply for a scholarship from the BC3 Education Foundation for the 2023-2024 academic year online beginning April 15.
Scholarships are available to students in all of BC3’s 56 associate degree or 25 certificate or workplace certificate programs in 2023-2024, to students attending all six BC3 locations or taking online courses.
Spring open house dates set
The college’s affordability, BC3 Education Foundation scholarships and state and federal financial aid enabled 60 percent of BC3’s Class of 2022 to graduate debt-free.
BC3’s spring semester begins Jan. 17.
The college’s spring 2023 open houses are scheduled for March 30 at BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township; April 5 at BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing in New Castle; April 11 on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township; April 18 at BC3 @ Armstrong in downtown Ford City; April 26 at BC3 @ LindenPointe in Hermitage; and May 4 at BC3 @ Brockway in Brockway.
