What is the award and how is it paid out?
BCC Financial Aid Award Letter
Once your financial aid file is complete, you will receive a financial aid award letter listing your financial aid award offer. Review the letter carefully. The award offer is valid only for the enrollment level specified on the letter. Contact the Financial Aid Office if you expect your enrollment to be different from what is specified on the letter. In most cases, the award offer will fluctuate with enrollment changes. Follow-up on any comments listed or additional information requests.
Awarding Criteria and Amounts
Financial aid recipients are selected and awarded based on calculated financial need using standards developed by the U.S. Department of Education to estimate a fair student and family contribution. The Federal Pell Grant Program provides grants to low-income students and the award value is based on the federal expected family contribution, derived using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and the student’s enrollment level. Other grant and loan funds are awarded to students based on financial need, enrollment level, and the availability of funds. Files completed early and by the May 1 priority deadline have the best chance of receiving other grant assistance. Financial aid funds are awarded on a rolling basis using the criteria established for each fund, such as residency, enrollment level, and calculated financial need. As funding permits, the Financial Aid Office strives to provide assistance to meet each eligible applicant’s direct educational costs.
John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Recipients
Send a copy of your award letter to the Financial Aid Office – be sure to keep your original letter. To receive these funds, you need to enroll in college for the fall semester immediately following high school graduation; complete the FAFSA maintain full time enrollment and a 3.0 GPA. Twelve credits or more is considered a full time semester. At BCC, the scholarship is valued at $24 per credit or a minimum of $288 per semester. This program is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance.
MA Tuition Waiver
This need-based waiver is awarded to eligible Massachusetts residents enrolled in state-supported classes based on registration at the time the funds are awarded. Eligible classes have a section number beginning with "A" and a TUI1 billing code. These funds will waive only TUI1 charges. If your class section designation changes and is no longer an "A" section class, this waiver cannot be applied and usually cannot be replaced with other funds. The MA Tuition Waiver will be cancelled if you have another state waiver (Adams Scholarship, Mass Rehab, Foster, Veteran, etc).
accessBCC One Card and accessBCC Refund Card
These are two separate cards and each card has many different uses.
For financial aid purposes,
accessBCC One Card is used for financial aid book advances, Bristol$, and Green Print $.
accessBCC Refund Card is used to receive financial aid refunds
For more information about the accessBCC card, click here.
For more information about the accessBCC Refund Card, click here.
You can view your card balances and transactions through your accessBCC account or with an IPhone app.
To view through your accessBCC account, log in, click on the One Card tab, log in again at the eAccounts Login, using your same accessBCC log in information.
To view using an IPhone or IPad, follow the download directions outlined in the accessBCC at the One Card tab.
The accessBCC Card is needed for the book advance program. Book advances give students the opportunity to use some of their financial aid funds in advance of the first disbursement to purchase books at BCC's Bookstore. To be eligible for a book advance, you will need to have a complete financial aid file, have received a financial aid award letter, and have a pending credit balance on your bill. A book advance is not a grant and is not in addition to your financial aid award package.
No additional paperwork is needed to use a book advance; however, you must have a valid BCC Student ID Card, also known as the accessBCC One Card. The card will be swiped at the BCC Bookstore when you make your purchases. It is important that you bring your class schedule to the BCC Bookstore when you purchase your books.
To see the dates for the book advances, check the Financial Aid Calendar. Book advance limits are:
- $500 for full-time students (12 or more credits)
- $400 for 3/4-time students (9-11 credits)
- $300 for 1/2-time students (6-8 credits)
- $200 for 1/4 time students (less than 6 credits)
A student may meet the eligibility requirements, but not be eligible for the limit. An example would be a full-time student with a $200 pending credit balance. Although the full-time limit is $500, the student will only be eligible for $200 book advance.
There are no cash refunds on books returned that were bought with a book advance. Also, you don’t need to spend your entire book advance. All book advance charges are added to your tuition bill from BCC. If your eligibility changes and/or your financial aid award is not enough to cover the book advance charges, you are responsible for repaying the charge. Also, if you drop a class or fully withdraw from
Financial Aid Distribution
The accessBCC Refund Card is needed to receive financial aid refund payments. Your financial aid award is first applied to outstanding charges and any advances you've received, such as book charges. So, if your financial aid award is greater than your charges, you will receive a payment in the amount of the excess funds.
Your accessBCC account will show an estimated disbursement date which reflects the date the college expects to receive payment from federal and state agencies. This is not the date you can expect to receive a payment. Awards, enrollment, and charges are verified and payments are then made to students. We distribute funds within fourteen days of receipt.
Payment dates are posted on the BCC Event Calendar. For the Fall semester, financial aid payments begin in November; for the Spring Semester, payments begin in March; for the Summer, in August. The Student Accounts Office will notify you when the payment is available.
Fall 2012 payments dates: November 2, November 21, December 14, January 18
Spring 2013 payment dates: March 8, April 5, May 3, June 21
The Student Accounts Office processes ALL refunds and financial aid payments through the accessBCC Refund Card.
The funds will be distributed to you based on the refund preference you select when activating your accessBCC Refund Card.
Loan Payments
Loans are made in two payments. As is the case with all financial aid, the payment is applied to your charges first; any remaining funds are then paid to you. If you are attending in the Fall and Spring, you will receive a payment in the Fall and a payment in the Spring. If you are attending for one semester only or if your loan is for a single semester, the loan will still be made in two payments – usually half of the loan is paid around mid-semester and the second half is paid about one month later. Promissory notes and entrance counseling must be complete before payments can be authorized.
Withdrawal from classes
Your eligibility for payment is affected by your attendance. Click here for more information.
BCC offers the convenience of a monthly payment plan for tuition and fee charges. Contact the Student Accounts Office or more information.
Health Insurance Waiver
If you are being charged health insurance on your bill and already have health insurance, you can waive this charge.