Financial Aid Eligibility and Need Determination

Financial Aid Eligibility and Need Determination

General Requirements to Qualify for Financial Aid

In order to be eligible for financial aid, you must fulfill the following requirements:

• You have a high school diploma, GED® or high school equivalency, or meet Ability to Benefit criteria (Contact the Master Achiever Center if you do not have a high school diploma or GED® to see if you qualify for the Ability to Benefit program)
• Plan to complete a college degree or certificate program that is at least 25 credits at Green River College
• Not in default on a federal student loan, do not owe a refund on a federal grant and use aid only for educational purposes
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress toward your program

How financial need is determined

If you meet the basic eligibility criteria, the Financial Aid office will determine your Financial Need; most financial aid programs require you to have Financial Need.

Financial Need is a calculation based on information you provide on the FAFSA/WASFA. Your Financial Need is determined based on the following formula:

Financial Need = Cost of Attendance (COA) minus Student Aid Index (SAI)

For instance, if the Cost of Attendance (COA) for residents living at home is $11,601 and the Student Aid Index (SAI) is $2,000, then the student’s financial need is $9,601.

CWhere you live plays a big role in your college costs—whether you stay on campus, off campus, or with your parents. The FAFSA and WASFA forms now assume students live off campus. If you live on campus or with your parents, fill out the 2024-25 Housing Update form so we can adjust your budget accordingly. For more info on how this might affect your costs, visit our Green River College Cost of Attending website.

COA      $11,601
- SAI       $2,000
= Need    $9,601

In most cases, we are not permitted to award you aid that exceeds your COA or exceeds your Financial Need for certain types of aid.

Learn more about eligibility requirements on the Federal Student Aid website.

Cost of Attendance (COA)

Your Cost of Attending is the amount of money we estimate you will need for tuition, books, and living expenses for the 9-month academic year (Fall, Winter and Spring quarters). See Green River’s tuition and fees. Student budgets include only your educational costs; other family members’ expenses cannot be included in the budget.  See detailed Green River’s Cost of Attending.

Student Aid Index (SAI)

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number that your college’s or career school’s financial aid office uses to determine how much federal student aid you would receive if you attended the school. This number results from the information that you provide on your FAFSA or WASFA form. This number is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what your family is expected to provide. A negative SAI indicates the student has a higher financial need. Learn how the SAI is calculated.

Change of Circumstance

Your SAI does not vary from school to school.  Your financial need, however, will vary according to each school’s Cost of Attendance. Because the FAFSA is based on tax and income details from past years, it might not show your family's current financial situation. We created the 2024-25 Change of Circumstance Appeal so you can tell us about any changes since the end of 2022 which might let us increase your aid award. You can find the form at Financial Aid Forms.

Living Arrangments

Where you live plays a big role in your college costs—whether you stay on campus, off campus, or with your parents. The FAFSA and WASFA forms now assume students live off campus. If you live on campus or with your parents, fill out the 2024-25 Housing Update form so we can adjust your budget accordingly. For more info on how this might affect your costs, visit our Green River College Cost of Attending website.