Cost of Attendance/How Financial Aid Offer Amounts are Determined

Most aid offers are based on financial need. To determine financial need for an individual student, the cost of attendance has the following amounts subtracted from it: expected family contribution, any Pell Grant amount a student is eligible for, and any other financial aid or scholarships a student will receive. If anything is left over, a student is considered to have financial need for additional federal aid.

Federal funds are limited, so the total amount a student receives might be less than the amount they are eligible for.

What is "expected family contribution?"

Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number used to determine financial need. The EFC is a measure of student/family financial strength and is calculated from the information reported on the FAFSA.  An individual's EFC will appear on their Student Aid Report (SAR). The EFC is calculated according to a formula established by law. Family income, assets, and benefits are all considered, as well as family size and the number of family members who will attend a college.

How is "family" defined?

This depends on dependency status determined by information reported on the FAFSA. Read more: Am I dependent or independent?

Cost of attendance

Many factors influence cost of attendance including the degree or certificate program a student is enrolled in and how many credits are taken per term.  Listed below are the standard full-time budgets for AAOT students at OCCC.

 

2023-24: resident student not living with parent
Costs 1 Term 2 Terms 3 Terms 4 Terms
Tuition and fees $1,800 $3,600 $5,400 $7,200
Books, course materials, and supplies $255 $510 $765 $1,020
Living expenses $3,048 $6,096 $9,144 $11,176
Transportation $699 $1,398 $2,097 $2,563
Miscellaneous personal expenses $957 $1,914 $2,871 $3,509
Total expenses $6,759 $13,518 $20,277 $25,468
2023-24: resident student living with parent
Costs 1 Term 2 Terms 3 Terms 4 Terms
Tuition and fees $1,800 $3,600 $5,400 $7,200
Books course materials, and supplies $255 $510 $765 $1,020
Living expenses $1,527 $3,054 $4,581 $5,599
Transportation $699 $1,398 $2,097 $2,563
Miscellaneous personal expenses $957 $1,914 $2,871 $3,509
Total expenses $5,238 $10,476 $15,714 $19,891

How enrollment affects your aid

A student's financial aid offer will reflect the number of credit hours a student indicated they would take each term when the student went through the financial aid portal processes. Actual financial aid eligibility will be based on enrollment level status at the end of the first week of the term.  Awards are revised to reflect the terms of enrollment. Financial aid funds can be reduced or canceled based on a student's actual enrollment level status.

Waitlisted classes do not count toward enrollment level status.

 
Enrollment level status Credits per term
Full time 12 or more
¾ time 9 to 11
Half time 6 to 8
¼ time 1 to 5

Minimum enrollment for financial aid

Full-time enrollment is not required to receive financial aid. This table shows minimum enrollment for different financial aid programs. However, enrollment level status isn't the only thing that determines eligibility--students must still demonstrate financial need.

 

Financial aid program 6 credits less than 6 credits
Direct loan, subsidized and unsubsidized x  
PLUS loan x  
Pell Grant   x
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant   x
Federal Work Study x