What You Can Use Your Account For

• Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form

• Signing your Master Promissory Note (MPN)

• Applying for repayment plans

• Completing loan counseling

• Using the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help Tool

What You'll Need

• Social Security number

• Your own mobile phone number and/or email address

STEP 1: Download our How to Pay for College Booklet — Class of 2024 Edition

STEP 2: Watch a previous Financial Aid Information Night or register for an upcoming live webinar.

STEP 3: Seniors need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA starting in December. The FAFSA provides access to more than $150 billion in grants, loans and work-study funds from the federal government. Don’t worry if you think you aren’t eligible to receive federal aid, you should still fill out the FAFSA to see what you qualify for.

STEP 4: Need help completing the FAFSA? Email FAFSA@hawaii.edu and a local FAFSA specialist will help answer your questions.

https://collegeiswithinreachhawaii.com/college-admissions-resources/

Every year, scholarship season is a busy one at HCF, with all the planning and preparation that goes into administering more than 200 scholarship funds. To help you understand the timing of some of our processes, here is a general timeline of a typical scholarship season:

• October: Start that Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)! You will need it when our scholarship application opens!

• November: The HCF Common Scholarship Application opens for the following academic year.

• November – January/February: Students can apply online and should plan sufficient time to retrieve all the documents and information needed to submit their application by the deadline.

• February – May/June: HCF staff and volunteer committees begin reviewing applications based on each fund’s criteria. Once final eligibility is determined, recommendations are made, and selections are determined.

• May – August: While we will do our best to notify students prior to the May 1 Decision Day, we cannot guarantee notification of awards, due to the lengthy review and selection processes we go through each year. In some cases, we may even continue to notify students throughout the summer, so long as funds are still available or become available.

• May – July: If you are selected and notified of an award, you will need to take some additional steps during the summer to be sure we get all the information we need to prepare payment to your institution. Keep an eye on the email you used in your application!

• July – August: Our first round of payments is prepared, for students that have completed their required steps.

• August – September: Institutions begin receiving scholarship payments.