Financial Aid Eligibility
To be eligible for any type of Federal, State or Institutional financial aid you must adhere to the following requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Have a valid social security number.
• Be admitted into a degree-seeking program.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress (a 2.0 or higher GPA).
• Enroll in only those courses that apply to your primary degree program.
• Be enrolled in at least 3 credits to receive Pell grants. 
• Be enrolled in at least 6 credits to receive student loans.
• If you are a male of at least 18 years of age, you must be registered with selective service.
• To retain eligibility, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• If you have attended other institutions before CFK, all official transcripts must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress for aid to be authorized.

How to Apply for Financial Aid

• Complete a FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  
• Complete the application based on the appropriate term:
  • For the terms Fall 2024/Spring 2025/Summer 2025, the 2024-2025 FAFSA form will be needed
  • The 2025-2026 FAFSA will be available October 1, 2025.
• The College’s Federal school code is 001485.

What Happens Next?

• Completed FAFSAs are processed and transmitted electronically to the college within a few business days. 
• Applications that are selected for “VERIFICATION” require additional information. The College sends emails to students notifying them of the documentation that needs to be submitted.
• Outstanding financial aid requirements may be viewed on your myCFK account. 
• Instructions for accepting Terms & Conditions
• Instructions for assessing your financial aid outstanding requirements

Help! 

• Financial aid staff are available to provide assistance: financialaid.cfk.edu or 305-809-3523.

Student types:

Dependent Students (Under 24, not married, no children, no military service)
Independent Students (Over 24, married, has children, served in the military)

Students who are selected for verification must request a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS. There are three ways to request a free tax return transcript:

1.   Online

2.   Telephone 1-800-829-1040

3.   Form 4506T-This is the only way to request that a transcript is sent to an address other than the address used on the original tax return.

Once verification is complete on a student file, the appropriate Federal Financial Aid may be applied.  Award letters are periodically created and emailed to students. 

FAFSA assistance

If you are enrolled in courses and your aid exceeds your charges, you will be able to use your excess aid to purchase books at the CFK Bookstore. You can use up to $600 (or $900 if you are a Nursing student).

Students wishing to use their CFK Book Voucher must have their schedule and student ID number ready.

Students in the Lower Keys should visit the bookstore on the Key West Campus to save on shipping charges.

The new bookstore can be accessed by going to: bkstr.com/cfkstore/home 

• First-time students must register and sign-on to eFollett’s CFK store front.
• Books may be purchased by highlighting BOOKS and selecting Textbooks & Course Materials.
• Next, you will specify CREDIT courses
• Then enter your DEPARTMENT. This is the course prefix. For example, Nursing courses are NUR.
• From the SECTION drop-down list, select your course’s CRN
• Adjust your item selection accordingly, and ADD to your cart
• When you are done shopping, go to your cart. You will need to select one of the radio buttons listed below and click CHECKOUT
• Next select your shipping method and continue
• At the next screen, specify your payment type. Students looking to use their book voucher should select FINANCIAL AID; enter last name, enter CFK student ID and click CONTINUE CHECKOUT
• Click COMPLTETE MY ORDER to finish
• Order confirmation will be emailed to you

CFK’s Business Office will post a charge to your student record in the amount of your voucher. This charge will be updated before financial aid disbursement to reflect your actual Follett charges. If you have questions about term charges, please call the Business Office at 305-809-3186. Unused book voucher amounts are refunded to students.

Please be aware that, if a student loses some or all Financial Aid eligibility after a bookstore voucher is issued, the voucher amount will be decreased or reversed. If the student has purchased books with the voucher, he or she will be billed by CFK for any resulting balance due.

Estimated Cost of Attendance

Each year CFK develops student expense budgets (cost of attendance), using U. S. Dept. of Education guidelines. Cost of Attendance is used to determine students’ financial need at CFK. Student expense budgets include approximate tuition and fee costs as well as allowances for the cost of books and supplies, transportation, food, housing and personal expenses.  These expense budgets represent the maximum amount of financial aid that students may receive from all sources, including student loans.

The variable factors that are used to construct the student expense budget include:

• Where the student lives (at home with their parents/relatives, not at home). 
• The student’s legal state of residency.
• The student’s enrollment status (the number of credits for which the student enrolls).

The schedule of tuition and fees at CFK 

2024-25 Undergraduate Full-Time Student Cost of Attendance

*Figures are based on an undergraduate student taking 12 credit hours per term for two terms (fall and spring). Out of State students should add $9,886 to tuition/fees. Tuition and fees are projected estimates and are subject to the change by CFK Board of Trustees’.

For Housing cost information, please go to: Lagoon Landing

Use the Net Price Calculator to formulate an estimate of cost of attendance based on your residency and living accommodations.

Loans are funds that students apply for that have to be paid back. There are a variety of loans available, some are better for the borrower than others.

• Federal Direct Loans that require a FAFSA application to apply.
• Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours to be eligible to receive loans. Students with courses that begin later in a given term will not receive loans until they begin a total of 6 credit hours.
• Repayment on Direct Loans doesn’t start until 6-months after the student leaves school.
• Subsidized Direct Loans have no interest while the student is in school at least half-time. **Not all students qualify for Subsidized loans.**
• Unsubsidized Direct Loans accrue interest while the student is in school.
• Parent PLUS Loans are Federal loans that a parent can apply for their child’s education. CFK requires that a FAFSA application be completed to be eligible.

Answers to most financial aid questions can be found at studentaid.ed.gov

Disbursement – How is aid paid to me & when?

• Students that request a loan for one term or who are on financial aid probation will receive their funds in 2 disbursements. The first payment will be made on the normal disbursement date. The second payment will be made after 60% of the term has been completed.

• Verify student attendance/enrollment – loan funds are not paid to students that have less than 6 credit hours of attendance
• Calculate student credit balances from financial aid and student term payments
• Subtract all student charges for tuition, fees, books
• Calculate refunds after term charges
• Generate refund checks
• Mail checks to students

What is CFK’s federal school code?

What is the FAFSA?

• The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
• You need to fill out the FAFSA to be eligible for grants, work-study jobs, student loans and scholarships.
• You can apply online at fafsa
• To complete your application, you will need a FAFSA ID to electronically sign your FAFSA. This is to ensure your privacy and security. You can obtain your FAFSA ID at FAFSA

When should I apply for financial aid?

I do not think I will qualify for financial aid. Should I still apply?

Do I have to wait for admission before applying for financial aid?

Do I have to be enrolled full-time to receive financial aid?

If I am a Non-U.S. Citizen can I still receive financial aid?

Are international students eligible to receive state or federal financial aid? 

What does ‘EFC’ stand for?

What is a Pell Grant? How can I get one?

What if I am a student at CFK but I want to take a course or courses at another institution? 

What do I need to do to allow a third party (parent, spouse, etc) to discuss details of my student account with CFK? 

Return of Title IV Funds

The following rule applies to those students who withdraw from classes, are withdrawn from classes by their instructor, stop attending classes, or unsuccessfully complete all courses in a term.

If a student is a recipient of Title IV Federal Financial Aid funds (excluding Federal College Work Study) and is considering withdrawing from classes prior to completing more than 60% of the term, their eligibility for aid will be recalculated based on the percent of the term completed. This may result in their having to return a portion or all of the aid that was previously received. In addition, if they stop attending all classes prior to completing more than 60% of the term, and/or if the semester-end transcript reflects unsuccessful completion of all courses, this will be considered an unofficial withdrawal. Financial aid eligibility will be calculated based on 50% of the term completed, unless documentation of an academic–related activity (defined by the instructor) is provided to the Financial Aid Office, in which case financial aid eligibility will be calculated using this later date.

Contact the Financial Aid Office immediately to learn how withdrawals or lack of attendance could impact financial aid. Students will not be eligible to register for future terms until all financial obligations are paid in full.

Title IV aid includes the following programs at the College:

• Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loans
• Federal Subsidized Direct Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans
• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal SEOG Grants

Office of Financial Aid/VA:

305.809.3523

financialaid@cfk.edu 

Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress

As part of determining initial and continued eligibility for financial aid, students must demonstrate/maintain satisfactory academic progress standards toward achieving a specified degree or eligible certificate as established by federal, state, and institutional policies and regulations. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is measured at the end of each semester based on cumulative student performance.

Satisfactory Academic Progress will be measured at the end of fall, spring, and summer terms.

Students enrolling at the College for the first time as a transfer student are considered initially to be meeting SAP. The measurement of SAP will be made at the conclusion of the first enrollment term and will include all accepted transfer credits.

Students being re-admitted will have SAP reviewed based on their prior academic record at the College.

Students academically suspended from the College and re-admitted to the school are not automatically eligible for financial aid. If a student is not meeting SAP guidelines, an approved appeal is required to receive aid.

For financial aid purposes, being enrolled in a course for credit (or remedial coursework) beyond the official drop/refund deadline counts as an attempt. Satisfactory progress includes all previous academic history, even if the student did not receive financial aid.

Quantitative/Pace (cumulative attempted vs. earned hours):

Students must earn at least 67% of their cumulative combined credit hours attempted. Courses with grades of F, I, W, and FN and repeat courses count as hours attempted, but do not count as earned. Transfer hours accepted by the college for credit are counted as attempted and earned. Remedial courses count in the quantitative calculation. The 67% rate is determined by dividing the cumulative number of earned credit hours by the cumulative number of attempted credit hours. The result will be rounded to the closest whole number.

Qualitative (GPA) Standards:

Financial aid recipients must earn/maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0. The cumulative GPA for SAP purposes considers grades earned for all periods of enrollment even if the student did not receive financial aid. Non–credit continuing education and workforce coursework (including English as a Second Language) will not be counted toward the term grade point average for Federal Student Aid.

Maximum Timeframe: Federal regulations require that an undergraduate student must complete his or her program in a period no longer than 150% of a school’s published program length. This is referred to as Maximum Timeframe. For example, students enrolled in programs requiring 60 hours will be allowed to receive financial aid for up to 90 attempted hours (60 x 1.5= 90). The total number of credits required for completion varies by program. All attempted hours used for the qualitative measure are used for Maximum Timeframe. A recalculation may be made for credit that does not apply if a student changes certificate or degree programs. This recalculation may be made for Maximum Timeframe only.

Once a determination is made that it is not possible for a student to complete a degree within the maximum timeframe, the student’s aid will be terminated. An appeal accompanied by an academic plan may be submitted to the financial aid office and then forwarded to the Appeals Committee for consideration.

Academic Amnesty/Fresh Start

Per federal student aid program regulations, these programs do not relate to SAP and courses are not excluded from the calculations.

Repeating Coursework

Students may repeatedly receive financial aid for failing the same course. However, these credit hours continue to count in Qualitative, Quantitative, and Maximum Timeframe calculations. A student may receive financial aid only once again for a previously passed course. These credit hours also count in the Qualitative, Quantitative, and Maximum Timeframe calculations.

Financial Aid Warning

Realizing that a student’s academic career may experience occasional hardships, a one–term warning is provided to those financial aid students who do not meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress criteria. To be removed from Financial Aid Warning, the student must successfully meet Satisfactory Academic Progress criteria on a term and cumulative basis in his or her next term. Should the student fail to do so, he or she will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

Financial Aid Suspension

Should a student fail to meet the requirements for reinstatement under the Financial Aid Warning status they will enter into Financial Aid Suspension. At this point, all federal, state, and institutional funding will cease for the succeeding term of enrollment, including all student loan programs. To be removed from Financial Aid Suspension, the student must take classes at their own expense until minimum SAP standards have been achieved or complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal and that appeal must be approved by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.

Financial Aid Probation

This status is assigned to a student who fails to meet SAP standards, has appealed, and had the appeal approved. This student may receive financial aid for one enrollment period or meet the approved appeal terms at the end of the following enrollment period to continue receiving it.

Academic performance of students on financial aid probation is monitored at the end of each term until the student is no longer violating SAP standards. Students who violate their probation status will be placed back in Financial Aid Suspension. See above.

Appeal Process

Should the student feel extenuating circumstances related to their failure to meet the above SAP standards, they may appeal for possible reinstatement. Students who are not satisfied with the decision of the Financial Aid Office have the right to appeal against the decision to the Financial Aid Director. Students have until the published deadline date put forth by the financial aid office each term to file an SAP appeal and submit the required supporting documentation of extenuating circumstances. The Financial Aid Suspension Appeal form includes instructions on required documentation and is available in the Financial Aid office or on the College’s website. Students who have received approval of a financial aid suspension appeal will be required to follow an academic plan on file and may only earn grades of A, B, or C while working from that approved appeal. Grades of D, F, FN, W, or I will result in immediate financial aid suspension. 

Students may not have more than three financial aid appeals while enrolled at the College.

Office of Financial Aid/VA:

305.809.3523

financialaid@cfk.edu 

Participation Report

A process that occurs every semester to determine whether a student participates in class. Failure to participate can result in a withdrawal for non-participation status.

Census Day: The date when Financial Aid reports information to Federal Student Aid. This process occurs once per semester. Students who register for class after this date may not receive a Pell Grant for that Semester.