Application for Financial Aid

While there is no official deadline to apply for financial aid, it’s recommended to apply 90 days before the quarter starts for your financial aid application to be reviewed. Allow 14 business days to process an update to your financial aid application, during processing times, you can check the status of your application via the Financial Aid tab in ctcLink.

Financial Aid applications rely on your financial information from two years ago, meaning for the 2026-2027 year, the application will request your tax information from 2024. We recommend ensuring you have access to your tax returns or connect with a tax professional before starting your application for financial aid.

Having access to any immigration, residency, or citizenship paperwork may also assist you in completing the application process successfully.

The Department of Education splits students into two main types: Independent and Dependent students. All students and contributors (i.e. parents, spouses, legal guardians) can use the tools below to help determine whose information needs to be included in a financial aid application. 

Independent are those who meet one of the 13 Independency criteria and do not need to include contributor information on their financial aid application. The most common ways our students are considered independent are:

  1. 24 years old or older, for the 2026-2027 academic year you would need to be born before Jan 1st of 2003
  2. Legally Married
  3. Have children or other people (excluding your spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you
  4. Veteran of the armed forces

Dependent students cannot answer “YES” to any of the 13 Independency questions on the FAFSA and must include contributor information on their financial aid application. 

If your contributors are married, then only one will sign your financial aid application, though both contributors’ information will be included in your application.

If you’re not sure if you’re a Dependent or Independent student or have unusual circumstances that prevent you from providing contributor information, please contact the Financial Aid Office and we can help you make the determination. 

South Seattle College School Code: 009706

Students currently attending the 2025-2026 academic year, i.e. Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026, and Spring 2026 should complete a 2025-2026 application.

Students looking to enroll in Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2027 should complete a 2026-2027 application.

Students should complete either a FAFSA or a WASFA. There is no instance wherein you should complete both applications. If you are unsure which application is right for you, please feel free to contact the Financial Aid Office directly.

FAFSA

  • Free Application for Federal Student Aid available at studentaid.gov
  • U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens, including permanent residents
  • Students interested in Federal AND State aid

To sign and complete your FAFSA you will need a FSAID Username and Password.  The FSAID acts as your electronic signature, and part of this process will verify your identity, citizenship, and more.  You and your contributor if applicable will each create a separate FSAID. 

WASFA 

  • Washington Application for State Financial Aid is available at wsac.wa.gov/wasfa
  • Washington Residents, as determined by South Seattle College’s Residency Department, undocumented students, including DACA recipients
  • Students interested in state aid only

To sign and complete a WASFA, new users will complete the WASFA. You will be asked questions to determine if the WASFA is the appropriate financial aid application to complete. If it is, a link to the WASFA application is provided. If not, a link to the FAFSA is provided. Following the questionnaire completion, you will begin the process of creating an account and completing your application.

If you need support completing your application, please feel free to contact the Financial Aid office for support scheduling an appointment. The financial aid office will always encourage students to attempt to complete their application by themselves first, however, we understand this process can be confusing and are happy to support.

Students who need to provide additional information will be sent a Missing Document Letter.  The email includes additional details about the necessary items and how you satisfy the requests. It’s important that you check your email daily for emails from financialsouth@seattlecolleges.edu with the subject lines “South Seattle College Financial Aid” or “Urgent: South Seattle College Financial Aid”. You can view required items in your ctcLink student homepage.

There are two outcomes for your Application for Financial Aid, an Award Letter or a Determination Letter.

Offer Letter

An Offer Letter details of the available financial aid funding that South can offer you for the year broken down by quarter. You will be offered aid based on full-time enrollment (12+ credits) with adjustments made as we receive your quarterly schedule. Awards should be accepted within 30 days otherwise offers will be cancelled.

To accept an award:

  • Step 1: accept or decline each award listed on your ctcLink Student portal page.
  • Step 2: you must select “YES” on the verification screen to confirm your acceptance of your financial aid.

Students interested in work study are encouraged to apply under the work study job listing tab in the financial aid menu. If you are interested in loans, you are encouraged to come into the Financial Aid Office for an overview of the Loan process at South.

You can cancel your 2025-2026 application for financial aid at South Seattle College here.

Determination Letter

Not every student qualifies for financial aid.  If you don’t qualify, we’ll send you a Determination Letter that explains why you were not eligible.  If you believe a mistake in your eligibility has been made, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

To assist in financial planning, we estimate student costs to create the Cost of Attendance.

Direct Costs are costs that you’ll pay directly to the school.  This would include tuition, fees, and in some cases, books.  

Indirect Costs are other important costs you must consider when deciding where to go to school.  Indirect costs are costs that you’ll pay to other people or organizations while you’re in school, such as rent, utilities, food, clothing, and transportation expenses.

Cost of Attendance

At South, we have several Cost of Attendance budgets depending on your program of study, your residency, and your living arrangements. You can see the Cost of Attendance we’ve assigned to you on the Student Financial Aid Portal.

Payment Plan

If you have an owing balance, and you want to spread out your payments, you can sign up for the Nelnet Payment Plan. Information about the plan is available on our Cashier’s page.

The Seattle Colleges delivers eligible refunds through a third-party servicer known as BankMobile Disbursements.

To set up your BankMoble account to receive your Financial Aid refund, visit Bank Mobile’s website and follow the below steps. Please note if you have not yet received an offer letter you will be unable to complete the steps below.

  1. Scroll and select "I need a code"
  2. School Name is "Seattle Colleges"
  3. Student ID number is your ctcLink number 
  4. School Email is the email listed in your ctcLink student homepage

If you receive any unexpected errors, please feel free to contact our office.

Eligible students will receive Financial Aid Refund on or after the first Wednesday of each quarter provided that they:

  • Have not made any schedule adjustments
  • Met all Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements
  • Have selected a refund preference through BankMobile

Students who do not meet all the above conditions may experience a delay in receiving their Financial Aid Refund. These students should contact the Financial Aid Office at FinancialSouth@seattlecolleges.edu if they do not receive a refund by the second Wednesday of the quarter.