Paying for College

Apply for aid

• Federal grants and loans — Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov.
• State grants and scholarships — Complete the FAFSA, create an account at MI Student Aid (michigan.gov) and note you are coming to NMC.
• NMC scholarships — NMC students receive more than $1.8 million in scholarships each year. Apply for NMC scholarships and search the database of external scholarships at nmc.edu/scholarships.

Check your email

Check your NMC email for instructions and, if needed, a link to NMC’s verification system.

Accept aid

• View and accept aid in NMC Self-Service, under Financial Aid, upon email notification. Note that many grants and scholarships are automatically accepted for you. Review financial aid terms and conditions.
• Unsure about whether you should accept loans? Contact us!
• Complete post-acceptance tasks as directed: Upload scholarship thank you notes to the scholarship system and complete the master promissory note & entrance counseling for loans on studentaid.gov.

Review account

• Review your Account Summary in NMC Self-Service under Student Billing the day after you make registration and other changes (most updates happen in 1–3 days).
• Remember that the Pell Grant and most State of Michigan aid adjusts based on enrollment and may have enrolled credit minimums.

Complete

• Pay your balance or set up payment plans.
• Consider Parent PLUS and Alternative Loans if your student awards don’t cover what you need.
• Charge books against credit balance. A credit balance shows as a negative balance at the bottom of the Account Summary.
• NMC disburses aid to student account about 4 weeks into the semester after confirming attendance. We refund credit balances within 14 days of disbursement.
• For faster refunds, set up direct deposit on Student Billing, Student Account Center.

Repeat

• Continue to monitor your email and account regularly.
• Contact us if you are considering withdrawing from courses.
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• Repeat the same steps each year. NMC’s aid year is Fall, Spring, Summer.