Financial Aid
As a current student, you are likely no stranger to financial aid. No matter how familiar you are with applying for financial aid, there are a lot of options and it all can get confusing quickly. And, if you would like additional help along the way, we are always here to help!
Because of the need for financial aid, you must file a renewal Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year in order to continue receiving scholarships,
grants, loans and work study. You must also maintain satisfactory academic progress,
meet any scholarship-specific criteria, and provide any requested verification documents
in order to remain eligible.
Delta College is committed to using the principles and standards of the College Cost Transparency Initiative in its student financial aid offer.
The Official Aid Offer will be available in Self-Service for you to view after you have accepted your financial aid.
FAFSA instructions
The first step in applying for financial assistance is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Renewal Application. Indicate Delta's school code (002251) for Delta to receive your FAFSA information electronically. It may take up to five business days for us to receive this information.
Learn more about filling out the FAFSA
Important dates
Students must complete the 2024-25 FAFSA to apply for financial aid for the Fall 2024, Winter 2025 and Spring 2025 semesters. The last day to complete the FAFSA for this academic year is June 30, 2025.
To maximize eligiblity--especially for State aid consideration, you'll want to get your FAFSA submitted by May 1st.
Students must complete the 2025-26 FAFSA to apply for financial aid for the Fall 2025, Winter 2026 and Spring 2026 semesters. The last day to complete the FAFSA for this academic year is June 30, 2026.
To maximize eligiblity--especially for State aid consideration, you'll want to get your FAFSA submitted by May 1st.
The priority dates listed below are the recommended submission dates to make sure your financial aid application (FAFSA) and required documents can be reviewed and processed in a timely manner before payment deadlines.
If you are unsure of what additional required documentation is required of you, please take a look at the Financial Aid Self-Service Required Documents section.
The last day to request a Federal Direct Loan is two weeks prior to the end of the semester.
| Semester | FAFSA Year | FAFSA Priority Deadline | Document Submit Priority Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | 2024/25 | June 17, 2024 | July 8, 2024 |
| Winter 2025 | 2024/25 | November 1, 2024 | November 8, 2024 |
| Spring 2025 | 2024/25 | March 3, 2025 | March 7, 2025 |
Types of financial aid
Financial aid is a general term that represents any financial assistance you receive to help pay for your education. There are several types of financial aid. You'll need to repay some types, while others are forms of gift aid that do not have to be paid back.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID
Ability to benefit
In order to receive Federal Student Aid funds, you must be qualified to study at the college level.
You are eligible to receive Financial Aid benefits if you:
-
- Have a high school diploma (this can be from a foreign school if it is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma)
- Have the recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, such as a General Education Development certificate (GED)
- Have completed homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law
- Have completed one of the Ability-To-Benefit (ATB) alternatives and first enrolled
in an eligible college program prior to July 1, 2012.
The ATB alternatives include:- Passed/passing an independently administered Department of Education approved ATB test such as COMPASS, ASSET or ACCUPLACER
- Completing at least six credit hours that are applicable toward a degree or certificate offered by Delta College (remedial coursework does not count towards this requirement)
Consortium agreements
Delta College partners with universities to enable students to attend a university and Delta College during the same semester. The agreement allows students to receive financial aid funds from the university and combine credits from both schools for enrollment purposes. Consortium agreements allow for more flexibility with scheduling or availability of courses, and cost. Students are required to contact the financial aid office from their university to start a consortium agreement.
During your enrollment at Delta with a consortium agreement, the payment deadline may be extended to the student as a courtesy to allow time for a financial aid balance check from the university.
Students are responsible for:
-
- Paying Delta College directly for tuition and fee charges by the extended payment due date
- Purchasing books and supplies, no Bookstore courtesy is extended
- Notifying your university of any class schedule changes
- Each semester, renew your consortium agreement with the university
Delta College will be responsible for verifying enrollment and attendance, and sending a transcript upon completion of each semester.
Federal verification process
Federal verification is a process implemented by the U.S. Department of Education in which institutions are required to confirm the accuracy of information that students provide on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The U.S. Department of Education may select students for the federal verification process based on random sampling or because the student’s FAFSA data was incomplete, estimated or inconsistent. However, the Delta College Financial Aid Office reserves the right to request additional documentation from financial aid applicants although they are not selected for the federal verification process. Further information may be requested to verify conflicting information or to bring resolution to any other identified conflicts during financial aid processing and disbursement.
If you are selected for the federal verification process, we will send an email notification to your Delta email account letting you know what information we need complete the verification process. We are required, by federal regulations, to request documentation to confirm the information reported on a student’s FAFSA. The required documentation will also be listed on the Required Documents section of your Financial Aid Self-Service account.
To satisfy the request for tax return information, the you and your parent (if a dependent student) must import the data to the FAFSA through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT), request an IRS Tax Return Transcript--which can be obtained free of charge from the IRS or provide us with a signed copy of the Federal Tax Return.
We will process the verification documentation in the order it is received. However, the review of your verification documentation can take up to 4 weeks to complete. Therefore, if you delay in filing your FAFSA and submitting your verification documentation, there can be a significant delay in processing your financial aid. If this happens, you may have consider other payment options to pay for your classes until your financial aid is processed.
Verification must be complete within 120 days after the last day of your enrollment for the academic year. Failure to meet the deadline date will result in the lack of a financial aid award and you will be responsible for payment of all charges on your account.
The U.S. Department of Education can select a student for the federal verification process or request additional documentation at any time, including after the student has received financial aid. If you are selected for the federal verification process or asked to submit additional documentation after receiving financial aid, we will notify notify you via email to let you know that we need information to complete the verification process. Until the required verification documentation is submitted, received and processed by our office, any federal aid that you received (e.g., Federal Pell Grant) will be removed from your account.
If we discover any differences between the verification documentation and information reported on your FAFSA, we will make corrections to the FAFSA and submit those corrections to the U.S. Department of Education. Therefore, unless you are notified by our office, you or your parent (if a dependent student) should not update the FAFSA, as this may cause additional delays in the awarding of your financial aid.
Once we confirm the data reported on your FAFSA, we will recalculate your financial aid eligibility and communicate the results to you via email as well as updating your information on Financial Aid Self-Service.
If the federal verification process is completed after your initial financial aid award and receiving a financial aid disbursement, your financial aid eligibility may change as a result of revisions made to the FAFSA. You may also be required to repay financial aid that was previously awarded and disbursed to your account with the Delta Student Billing Office (e.g., changes to the EFC and Federal Pell Grant eligibility).
We understand the federal verification process can be challenging. Therefore, we would like to provide some additional information on different methods for retrieving the appropriate tax information from the IRS. Below is the link to the IRS website where you will find instructions on requesting a tax return transcript:
Special circumstances
Students and families that have experienced changes to their life circumstances, income or unusual expenses may be eligible to request an adjustment to their FAFSA.
Financial situations leading to changes in FAFSA data that impacts Cost of Attendance or Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
- Changes to family income, assets, etc.
- Recent Unemployment
- Dislocated Worker
- Housing change due to homelessness
- Divorce, separation or death
Conditions leading to a change in a student's dependency status (referred to as dependency override).
- Human trafficking
- Refugee or asylee status
- Parental abandonment, incarceration, etc.
- Unable to contact parents
- Contact with parents poses a risk
If you are transferring to Delta from another college and was granted a special circumstance approval, you are still required to meet with an advisor and provide the necessary paperwork to our office for consideration. Each institution determines special circumstance eligibility based their policies and our decision may be different than your prior school.
If you believe you have a qualifying special circumstance, please contact our office. We can have a conversation with you to determine what paperwork you will need to gather and submit to us for further review.
If your FAFSA is selected for the Verification process, our office may not be able consider your special circumstance until the Verification process has been completed--depending on the year/type of verification you were selected for.
Special Circumstance requests for the 2022/23 academic year will not be considered after November 1st unless a completed and signed 2022 Federal Tax Return can be provided. Requests for the 2023/24 academic year will not be accepted until May 2023.
Using financial aid toward bookstore purchases
If you are receiving financial aid that can be used in the Delta Bookstore, bring a current printed billing statement along with Student ID to the bookstore each time you make a purchase. You can also purchase your books online through the Bookstore's website.
Visit the Delta College Bookstore
Financial aid complaints
Students who have complaints about financial aid should first work with a Financial Aid Advisor in the Financial Aid Office to resolve the dispute.
Financial Aid Office
D101
financialaid@delta.edu
989-686-9080
Should the dispute not be resolved after working with the financial aid staff, students may ask to be forwarded to the Director of Financial Aid.
The Financial Aid Office will review all complaints sent directly to the Director of Financial Aid, Dean of Students, Vice President of Student and Educational Services, President of the College and all other officials who may receive a complaint regarding issues with financial aid. All complaints are taken seriously, and will be viewed and responded to promptly.
Formal complaints can be submitted via the Delta College General Concern/Complaint Reporting Form.
If the dispute is not resolved to the student's satisfaction, there are resources outside of the college that may assist.
Federal Ombudsman for federal loan disputes
U.S. Department of Education
FSA Ombudsman Group
830 First Street, NE
Mail Stop 51444
Washington, DC 20202-5144
877-557-2575
www.studentaid.gov
Office of Inspector General for suspected fraud or abuse in federal aid programs
800-MIS-USED or 800-647-8733
www2.ed.gov
Michigan Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-1110 or 877-765-8388
miag@michigan.gov
Consumer Financial and Protection Bureau
855-411-2372
www.consumerfinance.gov