Available Programs
Grants are money that is not paid back. Application for grant money is made through the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
- Federal Pell Grant: Applicants who meet all requirements will receive a Federal Pell Grant based on need and number of units in which they are enrolled. Maximum Pell Grant for 2009-2010 = $5,350.
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG): Student who qualify for additional assistance may be offered an SEOG if eligible for the Pell Grant. Funds are awarded based on priority and need.
- Cal Grants: Cal Grant recipients must be California residents. The CalGrant application is separate from the FAFSA. To apply, the FAFSA and Cal Grant GPA Verification Form must be postmarked by March 2nd or September 2rd. The CalGrant is a competitive Grant and not all applicants receive funds. For more information, see www.csac.ca.gov.
- District Grant in Aid (DGIA): Monterey Peninsula College provides institutional grants (while funds are available) to undergraduate students who have completed less then 48 college units.
- Orr Estate Grant: Monterey Peninsula College provides institutional grants (while funds are available) to students who have completed 12 units, are enrolled full-time, and have at least a 2.0 GPA.
Scholarships are funds provided by private donors. Each scholarship has a separate application process. The MPC Scholarship Booklet is released the second week in February and the MPC Scholarship Applications are due by the last Friday in March. Check the MPC Student Financial Services bulletin board or website weekly for outside scholarship information.
When applying for outside scholarships or visiting scholarship search engines always remember, "If you have to pay money to get money, its probably a scam." To learn more about scholarship scams, visit www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.phtml.
Loans are funds that need to be paid back. MPC has one Federal loan program, the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (Stafford Loan or FFELP). MPC also has two short-term loan programs, the Lobo Loan and the ASMPC Loan.
- Federal Family Educational Loan Program (Stafford Loan/FFELP): The loan is made through a bank selected by the student at the time of application. To be eligible for this program a student needs to complete his/her financial aid file and be enrolled at least half-time. Please see Federal Stafford Loan link at www.mpc.edu/financialaid for further details.
Board of Governor's Fee Waiver (BOG) is a state funded award available to California residents attending Community Colleges. This waiver is designed to waive Enrollment Fee, and reduce the parking fee to $20 for each semester. This waiver is applicable from the summer to spring semester and ONLY applies to enrollment fees.
Federal Work-Study On- and off-campus jobs (financed primarily with federal funds) are awarded to students with financial need. Special consideration is given to students who apply by the priority deadline date and indicate they will accept work. The number of hours a student works during the academic year depends on the student's allocation and hourly pay rate, which is at least the federal minimum hourly wage. The average student's Federal Work-Study allocation produces an income of approximately $2000 for the academic year. A student is allowed to work 20 hours per week.