How to Apply

Students can apply for financial aid funds beginning January 1. In addition, there are federal, state, and institutional deadlines that must be met. All financial aid funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have questions or need additional information, forms, or help completing the financial aid forms, please contact your Financial Aid Advisor.

Tri-County	Jennifer Kelsen	513-772-7516
Eastgate	Sylvia Stevens	513-943-3600
Cincinnati State	Scott Burnam	513-569-1806

To receive financial aid students MUST register and maintain a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester. Financial aid students who change the number of credit hours they are registered for through the Drop/Add process need to consult the Financial Aid Advisor to see how their financial aid will be affected.

If you are interested in applying for financial aid at Wilmington College, you must complete the following steps:

STEP 1

Complete an application for admission to Wilmington College. Financial aid cannot be awarded until you are admitted to the college as a degree-seeking student.
STEP 2

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) after January 1. The FAFSA form determines eligibility for federal and state aid beginning with the Summer semester of the academic year for which you are applying for financial aid. The FAFSA form will ask for information contained on your most recent federal income tax return. The FAFSA may be completed electronically on the U. S. Department of Education’s website www.fafsa.ed.gov or by paper. You may obtain a paper FAFSA from your respective branch administrative office.

Please note that if you submitted the FAFSA for the prior academic year, the U. S. Department of Education will automatically send you a Renewal FAFSA Application to complete online. Be sure to release your FAFSA application to Wilmington College by listing our School Code 003142 in Step 6.
STEP 3

Review your Student Aid Report (SAR). Four to six weeks after you submit the FAFSA you will receive a Student Aid Report. Check this form for accuracy. If it is error free, retain the SAR for your files. If you detect an error, contact your Financial Aid Counselor to see if these changes are necessary and to see if they can be updated electronically. Please read this form carefully. The U. S. Department of Education selects approximately 30% of each institution’s aid applicants for a process called verification. If you are selected, you will be informed via your SAR. In addition, Wilmington College will send you an "Information Request Letter" requesting the documents that you are required to
submit to us so we can verify the data you provided on your FAFSA application.
STEP 4

Wilmington College will send a Financial Aid Award Notice to you AFTER you have been accepted for admission to the College and AFTER you have completed the verification process (if selected). The awarding process starts in March and continues throughout the academic year.

STEP 5

Review your Financial Aid Award Packet. The Financial Aid Award Packet will contain your Financial Aid Award Notice, which you will need to read, sign, and return. Your packet will also include other forms such as a Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note, Entrance Loan Counseling requirements, and other valuable information about the aid that you have been awarded and the conditions that you must meet to retain your financial aid. Wilmington College requires that you complete and return your Financial Aid Award Notice (indicating your intention to accept all or part of the award) along with any other documents that were enclosed in your packet within two weeks of receiving your Financial Aid Award Packet.