Financial Aid Types

Hawai'i Promise is a last-dollar state grant intended to ensure that the direct costs of attending college are covered by free financial aid for Hawai’i resident, first-degree students with financial need. Offer amounts are determined by calculating total direct costs (tuition, fees, books, and supplies), then subtracting any other free financial aid. That number is then compared to the student's remaining unmet need, and the lesser value is the Hawai’i Promise amount.

Hawai’i Promise is initially awarded based on full-time enrollment projections, but if students enroll in fewer credits, their direct costs are lower, and therefore the grant amount is reduced. Additionally, because the grant is only intended to make up the difference between a student's direct costs and other free financial aid, receipt of other grants and scholarships may result in a Hawai’i Promise reduction.

Hawai’i Promise disbursements and adjustments begin as early as 10 days before the semester begins and occur throughout the school year.

Requirements: FAFSA, financial need, minimum half-time enrollment

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is a federal grant available to FAFSA-eligible students with the most financial need according to the federal financial need formula. More information about the SEOG is available online at the US Department of Education’s (US DOE) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant web page.

Requirements: FAFSA, financial need, minimum half-time enrollment

The University of Hawai’i (UH) Opportunity Grant is a UH grant that is awarded based on financial need, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Requirements: FAFSA, financial need, minimum half-time enrollment

The Native Hawaiian Tuition Waiver is a tuition waiver for students of Hawaiian ancestry who are Hawai'i residents and have financial need, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This waiver can only pay for Hawai’i CC tuition (courses at other campuses are not covered).

Requirements: Native Hawaiian, Hawai’i resident, FAFSA, financial need, minimum half-time enrollment

The Second Century Scholars Program is a state grant available for students of Native Hawaiian ancestry who are first-degree, Hawai’i residents with financial need, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Requirements: Native Hawaiian, Hawai’i resident, first degree, FAFSA, financial need, minimum half-time enrollment

The Hawai’i B+ Scholarship is a University of Hawai’i (UH) scholarship available to Hawai’i resident students at Hawai’i CC who enroll in the school year directly following graduation from a State of Hawai’i public high school. Students must have earned a minimum 3.0 high school GPA, completed a rigorous high school curriculum as defined by the State of Hawai’i, and have financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

A rigorous high school curriculum is currently defined as 4 credits of English, 3 credits of math (including Algebra I and Geometry), 3 credits of science (including Biology), and 3 credits of college preparatory coursework, such as foreign languages, fine arts, and social sciences.

For consideration, students may FileDrop their official high school transcripts to hawccfao@hawaii.edu with the subject: "For Hawai’i B+ Scholarship Consideration." Official or unofficial transcripts submitted by high school counselors via FileDrop are also eligible for consideration. All transcripts must clearly demonstrate that the student has graduated high school, including the date of graduation.

Requirements: Attend college directly after high school graduation, graduate of a State of Hawai’i public high school, minimum 3.0 high school GPA, rigorous high school curriculum, Hawai’i resident, UH Common Scholarship Application, FAFSA, financial need, minimum full-time enrollment

The Hawaii CC Achievement Scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated achievement or service to the college (e.g. student government officers).

Requirements: UH Common Scholarship Application, minimum half-time enrollment

The University of Hawai’i Foundation (UHF) and Hawai’i CC offer many different scholarships to students who complete the UH Common Scholarship Application. Scholarship offers are made to students beginning in the spring semester before the start of the applicable school year and as funds become available. Students must be meeting all scholarship-specific requirements at the time of disbursement. Many scholarships require financial need, so completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is strongly recommended.

Requirements: UH Common Scholarship Application, FAFSA (if financial need is required), scholarship-specific

External resources are grants, scholarships, or other tuition assistance from organizations not affiliated with the University of Hawai’i System. External organizations determine their own criteria, so be sure to read all information and track deadlines carefully. The best time to apply for external grants and scholarships is generally from October to December of the prior school year. Many external resources are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to apply early.

Students are legally obligated to report external resources to the Financial Aid Office (FAO). Most external resources are sent directly to the school, however some organizations choose to issue funds directly to students. In this case, students must notify the FAO. Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in financial aid reductions, cancelations, and adverse tax-related consequences.

To report external resources, FileDrop a copy of your scholarship certificate or selection notice to hawccfao@hawaii.edu with the subject, ‘Reporting External Resources’.

While many grant and scholarship opportunities are legitimate, you should never pay to apply for grants and scholarships. Some organizations may be looking to take advantage of free advertisement by requiring students to share their websites on social media and engage in competitions to obtain the most likes, shares, comments, etc. Even if legitimate, the likelihood of winning these funds is generally low, and your time may be better spent focusing on other applications. In general, it is best to trust your instinct - if it feels like a scam or a waste of time, it probably is.

Hawai’i CC has put together a list of pre-vetted scholarship opportunities and scholarship search engines to help you start your search for external resources. Note that the links below lead to external websites that may not be accessible to users who rely on accessibility tools to interpret online content.

• Hawai’i Community Foundation
• Hawai’i Education Association
• Kamehameha Schools
• ALU LIKE - Hana Lima Scholarship Program
• Rotary Club of Hilo Bay
• Fastweb (Scholarship Search Engine)
• College Board (Scholarship Search Engine)
• Sallie Mae (Scholarship Search Engine)

 If you are a scholarship organization and would like to add your scholarship(s) to our external scholarship list, complete the form below.

Add Your Scholarship to Our List

Requirements: external scholarship application, FAFSA (if financial need is required), scholarship-specific

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a student financial aid program that provides funding for part-time employment to cover the costs of education. The primary benefits of FWS for students include on-campus employment that does not interfere with course schedules, wages that are not counted against future financial need, job experience, and networking opportunities. The primary benefit of work-study for employers is access to funding in addition to, or in lieu of, the department's student employment budget.

General Criteria

FWS is available to FAFSA-eligible students who have financial need and are eligible to work in the United States. Because financial aid is only available at the student’s home campus, students pursuing degrees from other campuses are not eligible for Hawai’i CC work-study funds, but may qualify for work-study funds from their home campus.

Maximum Hours

Student employees are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week during the semester, and up to 40 hours per week during periods of non-enrollment. However, IRS ACA tax penalties will be assessed to departments for any student employee who receives a premium tax credit (PTC) from the healthcare marketplace. To avoid penalties, departments may consider limiting student employee hours to less than 130 per month (0.75 FTE). All hours worked at any student employment job count toward this limit, so coordination amongst employers may be necessary for student employees with multiple jobs.

Applying for Federal Work-Study
To qualify for work-study at Hawai’i CC, students must:

• Enroll in at least 6 degree-applicable credits,
• Apply for eligible jobs (FWS) in the University of Hawai’i Student Employment and Cooperative Education (SECE) system,
• Receive a job offer from an eligible employer, and
• Complete all additional requirements for student employment.

To pay students using work-study funds, employers must:

• Submit a Federal Work-Study Request,
• Upon approval, add the applicable work-study account code to the student's placement in SECE, and
• Select the FWS account when approving the student employee's timesheets.

Beginning and End Dates

FWS funding is only available for the fall and spring semesters. Students may work from the first day of instruction to the last day of final exams each semester. Students attending both the fall and spring semesters are permitted to work during the winter break as long as funding is available.

Employment Restrictions

FWS recipients are not permitted to work during class hours, including any scheduled exams. Employers are responsible for ensuring compliance. In the event that a scheduled class or exam is canceled, students may be permitted to work, but only after documentation of the cancelation has been obtained by the employer. Employers must provide an explanation in the comments section of the employee timesheet for any hours worked during scheduled class times or exams, and provide the documentation if requested by the Financial Aid Office (FAO) or in the event of an audit.

FWS students are prohibited from providing voluntary services to their employers, and cannot be paid for work that students must normally complete as part of their academic program.

FWS funds may not be used to subsidize an employee’s share of fringe benefits such as paid sick leave, vacation and holiday pay, contributions to welfare, or insurance programs such as Social Security, Worker’s Compensation, or retirement.

Awards and Adjustments

FWS allocations are determined at the sole discretion of the FAO. The FAO has the right to adjust or rescind all or part of a student's FWS award, at any time, due to availability of funding or changes to the student's eligibility. Students are notified via email of award changes and must notify their employer immediately.

Student financial aid information related to FWS eligibility may be shared with work-study employers as necessary for the purposes of awarding and administering FWS funds.

Payroll

Student wages are paid using FWS funds until the student's allocation is exhausted. Employers may continue to employ students who have exhausted their allocation by using departmental funds. Any overpayment of FWS funds must be reimbursed by the department.

Monitoring Earnings

Monitoring FWS earnings is the responsibility of the employer and the student employee. Federal regulations require timesheets to be approved by the supervisor and accurately reflect the exact time period that the student worked. Timesheets must be submitted on a timely basis for the period worked.

Employers must select the FWS account on the timesheet in order to charge a student’s earnings to the FWS account. No reimbursements will be made to employers for pay inadvertently charged to departmental funds. The final FWS timesheet for the award year must be approved by the employing department no later than the last timesheet deadline in December for the fall semester, and no later than the last timesheet deadline in May for the spring semester.

UH Student Employment Requirements

In addition to federal laws and regulations, all student employees at UH are subject to the conditions of student employment in Administrative Procedure 9.880 of the UH Systemwide Policies and Procedures Information System (PPIS).

Requirements: student employment, FAFSA, financial need, minimum half-time enrollment

Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are federal student loans available to most FAFSA-eligible students to help cover the costs of higher education. Student loans are subject to interest and loan fees, however the interest for subsidized loans is paid by the US Department of Education (US DOE) while students are enrolled half-time and during eligible deferment periods. Students are responsible for paying the accumulated interest on unsubsidized loans from the date of disbursement. Interest rates and fees are updated annually and the most current information is available on the US DOE’s Interest Rates and Fees web page.

Student loans have both annual (school year) and aggregate (lifetime) limits. Loan limits are determined by class standing, financial aid dependency status, and remaining financial need (students must have remaining financial need to qualify for subsidized loans). A breakdown of annual and aggregate loan limits is provided below.

Annual (School Year) Limits
Dependent Students

• 1st-year: $5,500 total; $3,500 subsidized
• 2nd-year: $6,500 total; $4,500 subsidized

Independent Students

• 1st-year: $9,500 total; $3,500 subsidized
• 2nd-year: $10,500 total; $4,500 subsidized

Aggregate (Lifetime) Limits
Dependent Students

• $31,000 total; $23,000 subsidized

Independent Students

• $57,500 total; $23,000 subsidized

Because subsidized loans do not collect interest while students are enrolled at least half-time, students can only accept unsubsidized loans once they have utilized their maximum subsidized loan eligibility for the school year.

Student loans are disbursed in two equal installments, one at the beginning of the loan period and one at the midpoint of the loan period. Additionally, first-time, first-year borrowers are subject to a 30-day waiting period before becoming eligible for their first loan disbursement.

After a student graduates, completely withdraws, transfers to a different school, stops attending classes, or otherwise enrolls in fewer than 6 degree-applicable credits (less than half-time), they must complete Federal Direct Loan Exit Counseling and their loan repayment grace period begins. During this 6-month period of time, no loan payments are required and subsidized loan interest continues to be paid by the US Department of Education (US DOE). After the grace period is over, students must begin making payments to their Federal Direct Loan servicer.

Accepted Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans may be canceled before the loan disburses or up to 14 days after the disbursement notification. After 14 days, recipients must work with their loan servicer to cancel or repay their loans. To cancel or reduce previously-accepted loans, email hawccfao@hawaii.edu.

Requirements: FAFSA, Federal Direct Loan Request, Master Promissory Note (MPN), Student Loan Entrance Counseling, minimum half-time enrollment

Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans are education loans available to biological or adoptive parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid, up to the student’s cost of attendance budget. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. If the parent’s PLUS Loan application is denied, the student can request additional unsubsidized loan funding, or the parent can add an endorser (co-signer) to their application.

Accepted Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans may be canceled before the loan disburses or up to 14 days after the disbursement notification. After 14 days, recipients must work with their loan servicer to cancel or repay their loans. To cancel or reduce previously-accepted loans, email hawccfao@hawaii.edu.

Requirements: FAFSA, Approved Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan Application, Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan Request, Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN), minimum half-time enrollment

Private education loans are non-federal loans, offered by banks and other lenders, for higher education expenses. Before considering and applying for private education loans, students should submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and utilize all available grants, scholarships, and federal student loan options. Grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid and federal student loans are often better than private loans because of government provisions and safeguards that are implemented to protect students, which are not available for most private education loans. For specific information regarding private loans, including how to apply, students must contact the lender of their own choosing.

Hawai’i CC does not recommend using private student loans and does not maintain a preferred lender list.

Requirements: FAFSA, private loan approval, eligible degree or certificate program, minimum half-time enrollment, minimum 2.0 cumulative Hawai’i CC GPA