Applying for Financial Aid

  1. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
    • Open to U.S. Citizens and Eligible Non-Citizens. To get started, visit Federal Student Aid (www.studentaid.gov).
    • After logging in with your FSA ID or creating one for login access, you can proceed with your application.
    • Remember to include Cerro Coso Community College's school code (010111), otherwise, we will not receive your application.
    • Following your application submission, kindly allow 1-2 weeks for our Financial Aid Office to receive and process it.
    • Continue to monitor your Inside CC portal under the following sections:
      • Financial Aid
      • Eligibility
      • Current aid year

      This is where you can check if any additional requirements are being requested.

    For AB540 students: complete the confidential California Dream Act Application instead of the FAFSA. Additional information is available at California Dream Act Application.

  2. Student Report
    Students will receive an email notification from FAFSA or CADAA of their Student Aid Report (SAR). Please note, it takes approximately 1-3 weeks from the time you apply for the college to receive your FAFSA or CADAA. Students should check their InsideCC account for updates on their financial aid process.
  3. The Verification Process
    The Federal Processing Center (for FAFSA) and the California Student Aid Commissioner (for CADAA) selects applications for a process called verification. Please understand that during the verification process, you may be asked to provide additional documents or clarification of your original FAFSA/CADAA information. If documents submitted result is a change to your Student Aid Index (SAI), the Financial Aid Office will submit the corrections for you. Please note that changes made on your FAFSA/CADAA can take an additional two weeks to process; therefore, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE ACCURATE INFORMATION WHEN COMPLETING YOUR FAFSA/CADAA TO HELP EXPEDITE ANY VERIFICATION REQUESTED.
  4. Satisfactory Progress
    Students that apply for financial aid will be reviewed to determine if they are maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). To meet SAP, students must achieve a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 or better and complete 67% of all units attempted prior to attempting a total of 90 cumulative units. In addition, students must be following their Student Educational Plan (SEP) approved by a Cerro Coso Community College Counselor.
  5. Award Notification
    Once awarded, you will be sent an email with a link to view your InsideCC portal. Once you login, go to:
    • Financial Aid
    • Award
    • You have the option to view your account summary by term or view award by aid year
  6. Financial Aid Disbursements
    See BankMobile Disbursements