Financial Aid

Federal Eligibility Requirements

Most people qualify for some form of federal aid. The U.S. government has a set of criteria to determine who is eligible for financial aid. In addition to demonstrating financial need, you’ll need to:

View complete federal financial aid eligibility requirements

Even if you don't think you're eligible for federal aid, it's still worth taking the time to apply—which is about 30 minutes.

State Aid

State aid is financial assistance that a state—in our case, Indiana—offers to eligible residents to help reduce their educational costs. State aid often consists of grants and scholarships that have individual eligibility requirements. For example, Next Level Jobs is a program funded by Indiana's Workforce Ready Grant and has specific eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for most state aid, Indiana requires students to fill the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form. Indiana's FAFSA deadline for applying for aid from the state is April 15. Some state aid is first come, first served, so complete your FAFSA form early to maximize your eligibility.

Institutional Aid

Institutional aid is financial assistance provided by the college or university you plan to attend—in our case, Ivy Tech. The most common types of institutional aid at Ivy Tech are grants and scholarships.

Each Ivy Tech grant and scholarship has its own eligibility requirements, which may include citizenship or residency. Available Ivy Tech scholarships and grants also vary from campus to campus. In general, to be eligible for any institutional aid from Ivy Tech, you must file the FAFSA form each year. 

Private Aid

Private aid is any financial assistance not awarded by the U.S. government, Indiana, or Ivy Tech Community College, such as a scholarship provided by a business, community organization, or foundation. Private funding can be found in your local community and nationwide. Every source of private aid will likely have a unique application process with unique eligibility requirements, so you'll need to do some research to find opportunities that fit your situation. Examples of eligibility requirements include financial need, academic performance, affiliation with a special interest or organization, or affinity with a cause.

How "Need" is Calculated

Most financial aid is awarded on the basis of "need," the gap between a student's Cost of Attendance (COA) and their Student Aid Index (SAI).

Your Cost of Attendance is the average total cost of attending college for students whose enrollment and living situations are similar to yours. This includes direct costs like tuition and fees for your courses as well as estimates of indirect costs like housing and food, transportation to school and work, and other expenses that arise while you are attending.

Your Student Aid Index (SAI), on your FAFSA, is a formula-based index number that ranges from -1500 to 999999, used by financial aid professionals when creating an aid offer. Where your SAI falls on the SAI range helps your school determine how much financial support you may need. Your SAI is calculated using information that you (and other contributors, if required) provide on your FAFSA.

If a student is not "independent" as defined by federal regulation (at least 24 years old, married, supporting dependents, is a veteran, or meets other criteria), the SAI is based in part on information from the student’s parents, even if the student is self-supporting. A student cannot be considered independent just because parents refuse to provide their information on the FAFSA.

You may need to fill out multiple documents and forms related to financial aid.

• File your FAFSA form at www.fafsa.gov.
• Some forms will be available on your Financial Aid Requirements page on MyIvy if we have requested additional information. Complete financial aid verification by logging on to your MyIvy account and clicking "Verification File Review" under My Ivy Tech.
• Frequently used financial aid forms for the current academic year can be found here.
• How to submit documents to the Financial Aid office

View All Financial Aid Forms

Special Circumstances Review: 

We understand that there may be situations when a student's true financial situation is not fully reflected by the questions on the FAFSA. These students may be considered on a case-by-case basis for a Special Circumstances Review.

Reasons that MAY be considered for a Special Circumstances Review:

• Loss of employment
• Loss of other income
• Death of student's spouse (or dependent student's parent)
• Unusual expenses (such as medical costs)

Reasons that CAN NOT be used for a Special Circumstances Review:

• Charitable giving
• Vacation expenses
• Tax bills
• You already qualify for the maximum Pell Grant and loan amounts

If you feel you have an extreme situation that may allow for a Special Circumstances Review, visit your campus Financial Aid office to determine if you should complete the Special Circumstances Review form . The Financial Aid office will review your situation with you and determine what documentation you will need to submit to support your request for this review.

• Complete 24-25 Special Circumstance Form
• Submit to campus Financial Aid Office
• Supply any additional documentation if necessary
• Monitor Ivy Tech email address for response

Unusual Circumstances Review: 

We understand that there may be situations when a student does not meet the federal financial aid requirements to be considered independent on the FAFSA and yet may not be able to provide parent information. These students may be considered on a case-by-case basis for a Review.

Reasons that MAY be considered for a Review

• Abandonment by parents
• Abusive family environment that threatens your health or safety
• Parents location is unknown
• Other extreme situation with documentation

Reasons that CANNOT be used for a Review

• Parents refuse to contribute to your education
• Parents are not willing to provide information on the FAFSA or for verification
• Parents do not claim you as a dependent for income tax purposes
• You fully support yourself financially

Note: The unwillingness of your parent(s) to provide the information requested on the FAFSA or by the Financial Aid Office or the unwillingness to financially support you is NOT an acceptable reason to appeal your dependency status.

If you feel you have an extreme situation that may allow for a Review, visit your campus Financial Aid Office to determine if you should complete the Unusual Circumstances Review Form. The Financial Aid Office will review your situation with you and determine what documentation you will need to submit to support your request for a Review.

• Complete 24-25 Unusual Circumstances Form
• Submit to campus Financial Aid Office
• Supply any additional documentation if necessary
• Monitor Ivy Tech email address for response

FAFSA

Information from your most recent FAFSA will be used to determine your financial aid eligibility for the summer semester. If you have already filed the FAFSA for the current academic year, you do not need to re-file. If you need to add Ivy Tech to your FAFSA, our school code is 009917.

State Aid

Students who did not receive their full annual award amount during the previous fall and spring semesters may be eligible to receive the remaining balance of certain awards in the summer. This includes guest students who are not degree-seeking at Ivy Tech during the summer. If you began receiving your annual award in the spring semester, you may request to use a portion of the remaining balance in the summer (instead of the upcoming fall semester) by completing a Summer State Aid Request form. Contact your campus Financial Aid office for details.

Guest Students

Guest students who are not degree-seeking but taking classes at Ivy Tech in the summer are not eligible for most types of financial aid. Payment plans are available for your tuition and fees if needed. However, if you did not receive your full annual award amount during the previous fall and spring semesters, you may be eligible to receive the remaining balance of certain awards during the summer semester. Contact your campus Financial Aid office for details.

Registration

Once you have registered for summer semester classes, your campus Financial Aid office will review your eligibility for summer financial aid within 14 days. Updates will be posted on MyIvy in the Financial Aid area.

Credit Hour Requirements

Credit hour requirements for summer semesters are the same as for fall and spring semesters. Students must be enrolled at least half-time in order to receive a loan.

• 12 credit hours and more = full-time
• 9-11 credit hours = three-quarters time
• 6-8 credit hours = half-time
• 1-5 credit hours = less than half-time

Federal Loan Request

If you have loan eligibility remaining for the aid year and need to use it in the summer, you can complete the online Federal Direct Student Loan Request form (this form is not required for any other type of financial aid). Loan requests can take up to 14 days to process. Learn more

Priority Processing Deadline

To ensure your awards are processed by the start of summer classes, students must apply AND submit all requested forms, including verification and/or loan requests to the Ivy Tech Financial Aid office by the May 1 priority date.

I need to attend summer classes, am I eligible to receive financial aid? Watch to learn more:

A tax credit reduces the amount of income tax you have to pay. You may be more familiar with deductions, which reduce the amount of income subject to tax; however, a credit directly reduces the tax itself.

American Opportunity Tax Credit

The American opportunity tax credit (AOTC) is a credit for qualified education expenses paid for an eligible student for the first four years of higher education. You can get a maximum annual credit of $2,500 per eligible student. If the credit brings the amount of tax you owe to zero, you can have 40 percent of any remaining amount of the credit (up to $1,000) refunded to you.

The amount of the credit is 100 percent of the first $2,000 of qualified education expenses you paid for each eligible student and 25 percent of the next $2,000 of qualified education expenses you paid for that student.

To learn more about eligibility and how to claim the credit, click the link below.

Learn More

Lifetime Learning Credit

The lifetime learning credit (LLC) is for qualified tuition and related expenses paid for eligible students enrolled in an eligible educational institution (Ivy Tech is eligible). This credit can help pay for undergraduate courses, including courses to acquire or improve job skills. There is no limit on the number of years you can claim the credit. It is worth up to $2,000 per tax return. he lifetime learning credit may be limited by the amount of your income and the amount of your tax.

To learn more about eligibility and how to claim the credit, click the link below.

Learn More

Consult Your Tax Consultant For Advice

For advice concerning these tax credits, please contact your tax consultant or another expert. Ivy Tech staff cannot answer specific tax questions.