Applying for Financial Aid

Apply for Financial Aid

Apply for FAFSA each year starting October 1 for the next academic year. Remember, PPSC’s priority deadline is March 31. Ensure your FAFSA/CASFA is on file by this date to maximize funding.

PPSC's FAFSA School Code: 008896

Complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA for Summer 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025 and Summer 2025

Complete the 2025-2026 FASFA for Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

March 31 is the priority deadline for FAFSA. You can apply after this date, but funding is not guaranteed.

Start Your FAFSA Start Your CASFA Important Document Checklist

Applying for Federal & State Financial Aid

Learn how to navigate the financial aid application process at Pikes Peak State College. You must complete this process every academic year.

Part 1: Complete FAFSA and Start the Aid Process

After you submit and sign your FAFSA, it will be processed by the Department of Education's Office of Student Aid.

Once your FAFSA is initially processed by the Department of Education, or your CASFA by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, your information is then sent to Pikes Peak State College, where PPSC will continue the process.

Submitting the FAFSA or CASFA is just the beginning of applying for student aid. You will need to complete additional requirements and submit necessary documents after PPSC receives your FAFSA or CASFA. These are detailed below.

Important: Don't forget to complete these steps or you cannot be awarded financial aid.

1. Complete Your Financial Aid Application

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and is the only way to apply for federal student aid. The schools you list on your application will use FAFSA information to evaluate your financial need and determine how much federal aid you are eligible to receive. Many states also your FAFSA to provide their own financial aid.

Who can Apply?

To be eligible for FAFSA funds, you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, and enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program. If you do not meet the first criteria, please view the "About the CASFA" tab below.

FAFSA Quick Facts

Complete the FAFSA Online at StudentAid.gov
It takes most people less than one hour to fill out the FAFSA form.
Apply Every Academic Year. You must complete the FAFSA every year you are a student - it is NOT a one-time thing.
All students are encouraged to apply, even if they don't think they are eligible or are using military benefits - this helps us maximize the support we can provide.
Your FAFSA helps your school determine the types of federal student aid you are eligible to receive.
When you complete the FAFSA, you'll need to provide personal and tax information. You may be able to automatically retrieve your tax information from the IRS.
Note: The Student Aid Index (SAI) on the confirmation page is only an estimate. The official SAI will appear on your FAFSA Submission Summary.

📽️ Video: Applying for Financial Aid with the FAFSA

IMPORTANT: Make sure to include the Pikes Peak State College School Code (008896) for your application to be sent to us!

Complete FAFSA Online

Important Document Checklist

The purpose of the CASFA is to determine need for financial aid awarding purposes to students historically excluded from receiving state and federal financial aid.

Who can Apply?

Graduate from a public or private Colorado high school (or homeschool) after attending for at least one year or obtain your GED after living in Colorado for at least one year.
Get admitted to a Colorado institution of higher education or attend a reciprocal program.

Non-U.S. citizens and those that are not permanent residents of the U.S. can use the CASFA to apply for institutional aid

Learn More about CASFA

The 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form is now available. You can complete the form to apply for financial aid to help pay for attendance at college between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

When you submit your completed 2024–25 FAFSA form, you’ll get an email confirming that we received your form with preliminary information related to your eligibility for federal student aid. This will include your estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) and estimated eligibility for Federal Pell Grants.

Learn More

2. Next Steps After Applying for Financial Aid

The financial aid process doesn’t end once you submit your FAFSA/CASFA form - there are still things you must do after you complete your form.

What Happens After Your FAFSA/CASFA Form is Processed?

Once your online FAFSA/CASFA form is submitted, the Federal Government typically processes the form in 2-5 business days.

What to Expect (AND DO!) Next

Check your FAFSA confirmation for important information
- This will be sent to the email you entered on your FAFSA.
Review your FAFSA Submission Summary (formally Student Aid Report)
- For more information, visit: Understanding the FAFSA Submission Summary
Make FAFSA corrections, if needed.
- For more information, visit: How to Correct Your FAFSA
Watch for financial aid offers
- PPSC will prepare your financial aid award and send you a financial aid offer to your college-assigned email and personal email (check both!), directing you to review (and accept) your award on your portal.

📽️ Video: What Happens After Your FAFSA Form is Processed

When reviewing your FAFSA Submission Summary, remember:
This is not your final financial aid offer.

Ensure Contributors Sign Your FAFSA

Important: Your FAFSA form won’t be considered complete until all required contributors provide their information on the FAFSA form, give their consent and approval to transfer federal tax information into the form, and provide their signatures.

How do contributors provide their signatures?

If a student's submitted FAFSA form is missing a contributor’s signature and they have an FSA ID, they can provide their signature by logging in to StudentAid.gov, going to the “My Activity” page, selecting the correct processed FAFSA transaction, and entering the “Details” page.
From there, select the “Provide Signatures” option.
After you and your parent (and/or any other required contributor) sign and submit the FAFSA form, the form will be considered complete and will be submitted for processing.

Checking the Status of Your FAFSA

Check the status of your FAFSA form in the Dashboard of your StudentAid.gov account.

To confirm your FAFSA form has been submitted and to check the status of your form, follow these steps:

Log in to StudentAid.gov using your account username and password.
Navigate to your account Dashboard. Select current aid year from the “My Activity” page.

In this section, you may see the following statuses:

Draft — you’ve started your FAFSA form but haven’t completed all your sections.
In Progress — you’ve completed your sections but haven’t submitted the form.
Action Required — correction needed on your FAFSA section. May include missing consent/approval, and, or signature.
In Review — your form was submitted but hasn’t been processed yet.
Processed — your FAFSA form was processed successfully with no errors.
Closed — your FAFSA form was started but wasn’t submitted before the deadline.

Check FAFSA Status at StudentAid.gov

Part 2: Continuing the Aid Process at Pikes Peak

Once PPSC receives and processes your completed financial aid application, there are additional steps you must take to ensure any financial aid you receive is applied to your student bill.

Be sure to complete the PPSC steps below so that your financial aid funds are not delayed!

3. Review Requirements and Accept Terms

After the federal government processes your FAFSA, Pikes Peak State College reviews your FAFSA for errors and requests any documentation to verify your FAFSA information (i.e. verification).

What to Expect (AND DO!) Next

Make sure you are regularly checking your Pikes Peak assigned email and personal email for requests.

Complete Verification Requirements at PPSC, if applicable
1. Applications selected for verification are commonly asked to provide copies of tax transcripts, verification worksheets and any other documentation that will clarify the information that the student provided on the FAFSA.
2. Processing Time: It can take 2-3 weeks, depending on the time of year for PPSC to process additional submitted documents.
Accept Terms and Conditions at PPSC
1. This authorizes PPSC to apply your financial aid funds to your tuition and fees, as well as non-institutional charges (such as PPSC bookstore purchases).
2. Please read these statements carefully before signing

You can also see your requested documents in myPikesPeak Portal by locating the Financial Aid card on the home page and reviewing your financial aid requirements.

Check Financial Aid Requirements in Student Portal

4. Accept Financial Aid Award

At PPSC, first-year students are offered a base loan of $3,500 subsidized, and second-year students (with 30+ credit hours) are offered $4,500.

Students with 60+ credit hours in a bachelor’s program may be offered up to $5,500.

Grants and scholarships: Both are automatically accepted for you. There is nothing you need to do.
Student Loans: You must make a decision. You can accept the full or partial offered loan amount or decline loans entirely.
- Learn more about student loan options

To review or accept your loans:

Log in to myPikesPeak Portal
Locate the Financial Aid card
Select "Accept Your Awards"
Review your Financial Aid Award tabs
Either accept or decline loans (or accept partial amount).

📽️ Video: How to Be a Responsible Borrower (Student Loans)

IMPORTANT: Student loans supplement other financial aid programs and must be repaid with interest, regardless of degree completion, job prospects, or educational satisfaction.

Accept Your Financial Aid Award

Learn More About Loan Options

How Do I Get My Financial Aid Money?

Financial aid is paid (i.e. disbursed) to the student’s account the first Monday after the main census (drop/add) date, (except on holidays in which case payment will occur on Tuesday). See the academic calendar for full dates.

Typically, your grants and loans will be applied to your outstanding tuition and fees first. If there is any leftover money, it will be issued to you as a financial aid refund. Work-study funds are paid throughout the applicable term.

What is an aid refund? PPSC may issue a refund to you. Refund reasons can include receiving financial aid or obtaining a grant. You'll get a financial aid refund if any money is left after covering all charges, including PPSC bookstore purchases.
How do I receive my refund? You will receive a refund via your BankMobile refund preference selection. Visit BankMobile to create an account and choose the refund method.

Financial Aid disburses into the student’s account based on the enrollment
status, financial aid eligibility, and disbursement schedule.

Choose Refund Preference at BankMobile

View How To Set Up Your BankMobile Account