To be considered for federal financial aid at COD, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and list College of the Desert's Title IV school code on the application - - 001182. Students should complete the FAFSA online beginning January 1st of each year. The FAFSA should be completed and submitted to the processing center as soon as possible after January 1st for the next academic year.
After you have completed your FAFSA, you will receive an email notification from the U. S. Department of Education confirming your submission. Please read this information carefully. After COD has received your information electronically from the federal processor, the Financial Aid Office will contact you to let you know if there are additional forms you will need to submit. Other required forms or documents may be needed to complete your financial aid file; including copies of federal income tax returns and/or verification of untaxed income and other information you reported on your FAFSA. After all forms and documents are reviewed and processed, you should receive an estimated Financial Aid Award Notification email indicating what financial aid you are eligible to receive at College of the Desert.
For California residents eligible for the BOG Enrollment Fee Waiver you will only need to complete the 2011-2012 FAFSA application for the Summer 2011, Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters.
The Cal Grant application requires both FAFSA application and the GPA Verification form, the latter which can be downloaded from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) website (www.csac.ca.gov). Please note that College of the Desert transmits GPA information to CSAC each February for current or former students enrolled with 16 units or more units of college courswork completed. The application deadline for the Cal Grant is March 2nd of every year for the upcoming year and there is an additional deadline date of September 2nd for community college students. For additional information on Cal Grants, you can stop by the Financial Aid Office or visit CSAC's website.
The COD Scholarship Application will be available January 2, 2012 and close on March 2, 2012 for scholarships awarded to students for the 2012-2013. For more information please go to the Scholarship Information page on the Financial Aid Office website.
Students should complete their FAFSA application and other related materials as soon as possible each year, but no later than March 2nd to not only ensure that they are awarded in a timely manner and receive any subsequent refunds, but also to qualify for the maximum amount of aid available to them as certain financial aid is awarded on a first come, first serve basis, due to limited available funds.
