Applying for Financial Aid

Financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first served basis. For timely processing, submit your application by March 1 for priority consideration for the following academic year (August - May). Take note of all of our important deadlines to ensure nothing is missed along the way.

*Please note that the full process can take 4-6 weeks. We can only guarantee that financial aid will ready for Fall if the FAFSA is completed by July 1, or for the Spring if the FAFSA is completed by December 1.

Applying is easy!

  1. Apply for Admission
  2. Declare a Major
  3. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). See the section below for additional details and helpful tips.
  4. Applicants who are selected by the US Department of Education for a process called verification will be required to also submit a verification worksheet, federal tax return transcript, and possibly additional documents to ACC. Applicable students will be notified by ACC with specific details of these required documents. ACC cannot continue processing a student's financial aid application until all documents are received, accurate and complete by the ACC financial aid office.
  5. Apply for scholarships at arapahoe.edu/scholarships

Application Checklist Printable Version

The FAFSA

  • The FAFSA is the application used to determine your eligibility for student financial aid. This aid can include grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans.  
  • To ensure that your FAFSA is sent to ACC, enter our school code when prompted: 001346.
  • Only one FAFSA is required each academic year.

Helpful Tips When Completing the FAFSA

  • FSA ID: New applicants should create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. This ID will be used to sign your FAFSA and log-in to all federal student aid websites. It will also give you access to many helpful resources and services throughout your educational career.
    • Returning applicants who lost/forgot their FSA ID can reestablish it at the same website.
    • Parents of dependent students will need to obtain their own FSA ID.
  • Tax Information: All applicants should attempt to use the DRT, which is a tool within the FAFSA that automatically transfers the applicant’s (and parents’) tax information directly from the IRS into the FAFSA. Some applicants are not eligible to use the DRT, in which case they should have available copies of the most-recent federal tax return. Dependent students should also have a copy of their parents’ federal tax return.

Student Aid Report (SAR)

  • The SAR is emailed to you after your FAFSA has been processed by the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Your SAR will have a synopsis of your FAFSA application. Please read through this to make sure that the information provided is correct and accurate
  • Any aid amounts mentioned on the SAR, or in the process of completing your FAFSA, are estimates from the U.S. Department of Education.  ACC will inform you of the actual aid available to you.
  • It typically takes at least 5 business days for the FAFSA to reach ACC. Once ACC has processed your FAFSA, you will either receive a request for additional information (see sections below) or an Award Notification Letter with your financial aid offer(s).

Possible Additional Requests

  • Selective service: All males between the ages of 18-26 are required to register with selective service.
  • Declaration of degree: If you have not declared a degree yet, or need to change what is currently listed, complete a Student Declaration of Major. Make certain to select a program which is eligible for financial aid.
  • If you are selected for verification, complete the appropriate Verification Worksheet(s).
  • Tax Return Transcript(s) (see below)

Tax Return Transcripts

  • If you are required to submit a Tax Return Transcript, first attempt to log back into your FAFSA and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your tax information directly into your FAFSA.
  • If you are not able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, obtain the tax transcript on the IRS website.
    • Go to the IRS website. In the “Tools” section, click “Order a Return or Account Transcript” Go to “Order a Transcript” and enter all requested information, make sure you have the correct tax year. We CANNOT accept a “TAX ACCOUNT TRANSCRIPT.” Please make sure you choose the "TAX RETURN TRANSCRIPT” option.
  • Make a request over the phone
    • Contact the IRS by calling 800-908-9946 and follow the prompts to request a "Tax Return Transcript" (not a "Tax Account Transcript").