FAQ

To receive financial aid at Davidson-Davie, students must:

1. Be accepted into an eligible academic program; these include all Associate degree programs and a limited number of diploma and certificate programs.
2. Have earned a recognized high school diploma or high school equivalency such as GED; verification may be required
3. Complete the FAFSA for each academic year
4. Respond to all requests for additional documentation such as tax documents, etc.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a standardized form students must complete in order to be considered for financial aid from the federal government and the state of North Carolina.  The FAFSA collects demographic and financial information about the student and, in some cases, their family.  It must be completed for each year a student is enrolled and is available both in English and Spanish.  The FAFSA is filed at fafsa.gov.

The information collected by the FAFSA is used to calculate what is called the Expected Family Contribution.  Despite its name, the Expected Family Contribution is not what a student or their family is expected to contribute out-of-pocket towards their education costs, but rather an index of their eligibility for financial aid.  The Office of Financial Aid uses a student’s Expected Family Contribution to determine what types of financial aid a student can receive.  The lower the EFC, down to 0, the greater potential the student may be eligible for need-based aid such as grants, certain types of student loans, and work-study.

Your dependency status determines whether or not information about your parent(s) must be included on the FAFSA. 

For 2023–2024, the questions related to dependency status on the FAFSA are:

1. Were you born before January 1, 2000?
2. As of today, are you married? (Also answer “Yes” if you are separated but not divorced.)
3. At the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, will you be working on a master’s or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, graduate certificate, etc.)?
4. Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training?
5. Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?
6. Do you now have or will you have children who will receive more than half of their support from you between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024?
7. Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2024?
8. At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care or were you a dependent or ward of the court?
9. As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you an emancipated minor?
10. Does someone other than your parent or stepparent have legal guardianship of you, as determined by a court in your state of legal residence?
11. At any time on or after July 1, 2022, did your high school or school district homeless liaison determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?
12. At any time on or after July 1, 2022, did the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?
13. At any time on or after July 1, 2022, did the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?

No. Federal grants may be available for as little as one (1) credit hour, depending upon the results of your FAFSA.  Federal loans and state grants require you to be enrolled in at least six (6) credit hours (half-time).

While all associate degree programs qualify, some diploma and certificate programs only qualify for a prorated amount of financial aid (Alternative Transportation & Light-Duty Diesel diplomas and Esthetics Technology and Cosmetology Instructor certificates), while some certificate programs do not qualify at all. List of Eligible Programs

Please note: financial aid is not available for audited classes, continuing education classes (except BLET and CNA for VA purposes only), credit-by-exam courses, or courses not required by your academic program.

Yes, the FAFSA must be filed for each year you’re enrolled in college.

Yes, an eligible applicant must have a high school diploma or a GED certificate or been homeschooled and graduated in accordance to state guidelines. When completing the FAFSA, the student will be asked the name of the high school, city and state where located and the high school code which can be retrieved online. Failure to report this data will result in the student being required to document graduation through an official high school transcript. Students with a GED are required to verify this to the Office of Financial Aid with a copy of their GED test scores. Homeschooled students must provide a copy of the district’s release to the parents to homeschool their student and a transcript created by the homeschool teacher that includes a graduation date.

Withdrawing from a single class will not affect the financial aid you are receiving for that term. However, it may impact your future eligibility for financial aid. Review the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for more information.

If you withdraw from all of your courses in a term, the Office of Financial Aid will determine if you are able to keep all of your financial aid or if a portion must be returned to the federal government or the state of North Carolina.  This may result in you being required to repay some of the financial aid you received.  More Information about Withdrawing from Classes

No, only borrow what you need.  The Federal Direct Loan can be a useful resource to help pay for your educational expenses.  However, they are still loans with interest and fees.  Please use them responsibly. 

Instructions on how to apply for Federal Direct Loans

Students are required to meet certain academic standards in order to maintain their eligibility for financial aid. More information about the Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

Yes. Students may only receive aid for up to 30 credit hours of remedial coursework.

Yes! A student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits) in order to access additional Federal Pell Grant for the summer term IF they have already used their full-time award Fall & Spring semesters. If the student has not utilized their full Pell Grant or Direct Loan for the Fall and Spring semesters, they have eligibility remaining for the summer semester. Check with the Office of Financial Aid for more information.

Learn more about scholarships, including those awarded by Davidson-Davie

If the student’s financial situation has changed significantly from the previous year, they may complete a Special Circumstances Form and submit it, along with supporting documentation, for consideration to have their aid eligibility re-evaluated. Examples of circumstances may include loss of job, divorce/separation, large medical bills, etc.

Yes. A student may only receive a Federal Pell Grant for the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters or 6 academic years.  There are also aggregate limits for Federal Direct Loans.  Dependent students may borrow up to $31,000, while independent students may borrow up to $57,500.  NC grants are limited to 10 full-time semesters. 

The census date is the point in a semester after which Federal Pell Grants will no longer be adjusted up or down based on changes in a student’s enrollment. 

Yes, in general, a student must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average and complete 67% of the coursework attempted. In addition, financial aid is limited to 150% of the length of a student’s current academic program.  More Information about the Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements