Click on a Program for explanation:
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps members serve more than 3,000 nonprofit institutions, public agencies, faith-based and other community organizations to help meet critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment. The variety of service opportunities is almost unlimited. Members may tutor and mentor youth, build affordable housing, teach computer skills, clean parks and streams, run after-school programs, or help communities respond to disasters.
Upon completion of their service, AmeriCorps members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to help finance their education.
For more information click here.
The Board of Governors has adopted the fee waiver for eligible students to assist with enrollment fees. To receive this assistance, students must complete a Fee Waiver Application, California Dream Application (for AB 540 students only), or must have applied for financial aid through the FASFA.
You may apply online using the Los Rios Online BOGW Application or AB 540 Students may apply using the California Dream Application.
To qualify you must be a California resident and meet certain criteria explained both in the waiver form and on the online application page.
Beginning with the summer 2012, to qualify for a BOG Fee Waiver C a student must establish a financial need of at least $1,104.00 from a complete 2012-2013 FAFSA.
If you are Native American and have questions about funding based on your ancestery, please contact one of the below agencies:
For Occupational and Vocational programs contact:
Central California Agency
Bureau of Indian Affairs
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-500
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone No: (916) 930-3680
Fax No:(916) 930-3780For all other programs contact:
Pacific Regional Office
Bureau of Indian Affairs
2800 Cottage Way
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone No. (916) 978-6057
Cal Grants are one of the smartest ways to get cash for college. For starters, it's money you don't have to pay back. If you are a graduating high school senior or recent graduate who meets academic and financial eligibility requirements, submit FAFSA and GPA Verification Form by March 2 or September 2 to be able to receive a Cal Grant.
Students who have already completed 24 degree applicable or 24 transferrable units within the last 8 years at American River College will have their GPA automatically submitted to the California Student Aid Commission.
How to Apply. Submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) (AB 540 Students may apply using the California Dream Application beginning Fall 2013) and submit GPA Verification Form for the March 2 or September 2 deadline. If you meet the income, eligibility, and GPA requirements, the cash is yours.
Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards provide low-income students with a living allowance and assistance with tuition fees and other educational expenses. Most first-year students receive an allowance of up to $1,473 for books and living expenses. After the freshman year, Cal Grant B also helps pay tuition and fees in the same amount as a Cal Grant A. For a Cal Grant B, your coursework must be for at least one academic year.
Cal Grant C awards help pay for tuition and training costs at occupational or career technical schools. This $547 award is for books, tools, and equipment. You may also receive up to an additional $2,462 for tuition at a school other than a California Community College. To qualify, you must enroll in a vocational program that is at least four months long at a California Community College, private college, or a career technical school. Funding is available for up to two years, depending on the length of your program.
If you are or were in foster care and have financial need, you may qualify for up to $5,000 a year for career and technical training for college. You don't have to pay this money back. You may also be able to use your grant to help pay for child care, transportation and living expenses while you're in school. You can use your Chafee Grant at any eligible California college or university, career or technical school, as well as schools in other states.
To qualify, you must be a current or former foster youth and not have reached your 22nd birthday as of July 1 of the award year. The California Department of Social Services will determine your foster youth eligibility status.For more information click here.
The Child Development Grant Program is a need-based grant designed to encourage students to enter the field of child care and development in a licensed children’s center. Students who plan to enroll in at least half-time in coursework leading to a Child Development Permit as teacher, master teacher, site supervisor or program director, may apply through the college Early Childhood Education department they plan to attend. To receive funding, students must sign a Service Commitment Agreement stating they will provide one year of full-time service in a licensed children’s center for each year they receive the grant. For more information click here.
Under the FWS Program, you can work part-time to earn money for your education.
The FWS Program:
- provides part-time employment while you are enrolled in school
- helps pay your educational expenses
- is available to undergraduate and graduate students
- is administered by schools participating in the FWS Program
- encourages community service work and work related to your course of study, whenever possible
- Must complete FAFSA.
- FSEOGs are awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need- those with the lowest Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by Department of Education.
- Federal Pell Grant recipients receive priority for FSEOG awards.
- FSEOG awards range from $100 to $4,000 a year. The amount of the award is determined by your school’s financial aid office.
- Must complete FAFSA.
- Pell Grants are the foundation of federal student financial aid, to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources might be added.
- Pell Grants are awarded only to undergraduate students - those who haven't earned a bachelor's or graduate degree.
- Amounts can change yearly.
- The Consolidated Appropriations Act (2012) limits lifetime Pell grant usage to 600% (equivalent to 12 full-time semesters)
Scholarships are forms of aid that help students pay for their education. Unlike student loans, scholarships for college are financial gifts and therefore do not need to be paid back. The best source of scholarship information is contained on the internet through a variety of scholarship directory sites.
The American River College Foundation's scholarships are provided by the college, alumni, and private donors, and are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and promise of future achievement. Financial need is a factor for some awards, but not for all. Additionally, students who have acquired particular skills may be awarded for their talents. Click here for scholarship information.
Student loans, unlike grants and work-study, are borrowed money that must be repaid with interest, just like car loans and home mortgages. Loans cannot be cancelled on the basis of dissatisfaction of education received, lack of available jobs in one's field of study, or the experience of financial difficulty. Loans are legal obligations, so borrow wisely.
Direct Student Loans
On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA, Public Law 111-152) that require all Title IV Aid colleges to process (Direct Loans) William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans effective July 1, 2010. This law has eliminated the authority for bank lenders to make new loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program after June 30, 2010. As a result, all new subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loan requests from ARC are issued under the Direct Loans effective July 1, 2010. Students will no longer have the option to select a bank lender of their choice as the federal government will be the only lender. For more information on Direct Loan, please log onto http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html.
Click here for information on how to apply for a Direct Loan at American River College (2012-2013).
Alternative (Private) Student Loans
We strongly encourage you to complete a FAFSA and apply for the Federal Direct Stafford Loans over any private alternative student loans. In the event you do not meet eligibility requirements for the Federal Direct Stafford Loans, the option of the private alternative student loan is available. For more information regarding private alternative loans, go to: http://www.finaid.org/loans/privateloan.phtml.
Below is a list of lenders that have made private alternative loans to American River College students. We do not recommend one lender over another and we will certify a private alternative loan from any lender you choose. We encourage you to independently research multiple lenders and borrow through the lender that will best suit your needs.
ARC Private Alternative Loan Lenders: