How to Apply for Federal/State Aid
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Review your Student Aid Report (SAR)
- Completing Documents
- Pell Grant Award
- Loan Awards – Accept, Decline, or Reduce
- Maintaining Eligibility
- Information for High School Juniors
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Prior to completing the FAFSA, you and your parent(s), if you are a dependent student, should apply for a federal PIN number at www.pin.ed.gov.
Your PIN allows you to produce an electronic signature on the FAFSA. Your application can be processed more quickly with a PIN.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Be certain to list Bossier Parish Community College as a school you wish to attend so that we will receive your FAFSA results.
BPCC’s federal school code is 012033.
The Department of Education provides a FAFSA worksheet
for your convenience. The worksheet is not required, but may help you complete your FAFSA correctly.
Review your Student Aid Report (SAR)
After your FAFSA is processed you will receive a SAR from the federal processor. If you complete your FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA online, you will receive a SAR acknowledgement. When you apply online, provide your e-mail address and meet certain criteria, you will receive an e-mail from Central Processing Service (CPS) that provides a link to a web page where you can view and print your SAR.
If your SAR is rejected or requires correction, you should read the instructions carefully and take appropriate action. If corrections are necessary, you must send the corrected SAR back to the federal processor. When sending your corrections, whether on paper or electronically, include all necessary signatures and/or your PIN. Be sure to list Bossier Parish Community College (012033) to receive the corrections.
Completing Documents
Read your student email: When the Financial Aid Office receives your SAR, you will receive an email instructing you to access our student self service web area, LOLA. The Financial Aid section of LOLA will display a menu with several options. You should select "Student Requirements" to view the information our office will need to complete the financial aid process.
You may be required to complete documents that are found on our website. You may be required to submit a copy of your (or your parent's) federal IRS tax transcript, a copy of your social security card, a copy of your child's birth certificate, etc… It is very important that you view the “unsatisfied requirements” and provide the information as quickly as possible to avoid delays in awarding your financial aid.
Award Notification email: After all financial aid data has been collected and you are admitted to Bossier Parish Community College, we can begin to review your application along with all submitted documentation to determine your eligibility. Once the review (or verification) process is completed and it is determined that you are eligible for financial aid, we will post your awards to your student account. We will then send an Award Notification via your BPCC student email address.
Review Awards via LOLA: You may review your awards by selecting "Financial Aid" and then select "Accept Awards".
Pell Grant Award
The Pell Grant award is automatically accepted for the student. No action is required via LOLA. The Pell award is based on information you provided on the FAFSA such as income, assets, household size, and number of people in the household that are attending college. The Financial Aid office may ask you to submit documentation at any time to verify this information is correct. If the FAFSA information is determined to be incorrect, the Financial Aid office will submit corrections to the federal processor. If your aid has already been credited to your account and the corrections reduce your award, you will be responsible for any overpayment.
Loan Awards – Accept, Decline, or Reduce
Loan Awards are posted to your account in the same way as the Pell grant. However, the student must take action. You must access the awards via the Financial Aid page on LOLA and choose "Accept Awards". You may choose to accept the loan in full, decline the loan(s), or reduce the loan amount (by accepting a partial amount).
A good rule of thumb: Borrow only what you need. Remember, student loans must be repaid.
Master Promissory Note (MPN): It is your responsibility to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) at www.studentloans.gov. The MPN is good for ten years, so it is not necessary to complete an MPN each year.
Entrance Counseling: If you are a freshman and you are a first-time borrower, you must complete Entrance Counseling at www.studentloans.gov.
Maintaining Eligibility
In order to be eligible for federally funded financial aid programs (and most state funded programs) at Bossier Parish Community College, all students must initially and continually meet the qualitative and quantitative requirements for satisfactory academic progress (SAP).These aid programs include federal grants such as Pell and SEOG, Federal Work-Study, and Direct Stafford and PLUS loans.
The SAP Policy document provides information on the following topics:
- Qualitative Measure
- Quantitative Measure
- Academic Amnesty
- Regaining Financial Aid Eligibility
- Financial Aid Appeals
- Resignations
It is the student's responsibility to read and understand the SAP policy. You may click here for the complete SAP policy or you may come by the office to obtain a copy.
Are you a high school junior?
Take advantage of the FAFSA4caster Web site and learn about the financial aid process, gain early awareness of aid eligibility, and much more.