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Financial Aid

Contact Information:

Office of Financial Aid
Guttman Community College
The HUB Student Information Center – 50 West 40th Street, 3rd floor
New York, NY 10018 
(646) 313-8011 or (646) 313-8080
financial.aid@guttman.cuny.edu

The Office of Financial Aid at Guttman Community College is committed to assisting students explore their financial aid options.

A college education is one of the best investments you can make, but the cost can often put a strain on your finances. Our mission is to ensure that every eligible Guttman student has access to the financial resources they need to attain their college education. The Financial Aid team is committed to helping you learn about available resources and guiding you through the entire process. We provide guidance on how to maximize your financial aid options and to understand important financial aid policies so you can maintain eligibility throughout your time at Guttman.

Financial need should not prevent any student from attending a CUNY college. Over 60% of full-time Guttman students attend tuition-free due to receiving a Federal Pell grant, New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grant or the NYS Excelsior Scholarship, which on average fully covers CUNY’s low tuition. For more additional information about financial aid programs and policies please visit the financial aid website. To learn more about what CUNY offers, please visit CUNY’s financial aid website.

Financial aid advisement is available by visiting the HUB Student Information Center on the third floor, by appointment, or by attending our in-person or virtual workshops held throughout the academic year. If you have questions about financial aid, please call the Office of Financial Aid at 646-313-8011, email financial.aid@guttman.cuny.edu or visit The HUB on the third floor.

How To Apply For Financial Aid

Guttman Community College disburses both Federal and New York State financial aid to all eligible students. To be considered for financial aid eligibility, you must apply for financial aid every year and the first step is to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Below are helpful steps on how to apply for financial aid.

Step One: Submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

A student’s eligibility for financial aid can only be determined once they have submitted their financial aid applications. All students seeking financial aid must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available online at www.studentaid.gov.

  • Create, reset or retrieve your FSAID.

  • Use 2022 federal tax return information.

  • If you are a dependent student, your parents’ information is required.

  • All FAFSA contributors* must provide consent and approval to having their Federal Tax Information (FTI) transferred directly into the FAFSA via direct data exchange with the IRS.

  • Each contributor must have their own StudentAid.gov account (FSAID).

  • List Guttman’s school code. It is important to include our Federal school code (042101) on your FAFSA application. (The Federal school code allows the FAFSA data to be sent to us.)

    • If Guttman Community College is not listed on your FAFSA application, we will not receive the FAFSA data, therefore, we will be unable to process any Federal Student Aid.

About one week after submitting your FAFSA, you should receive an email confirmation with a link to your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) from the U.S. Department of Education. The FSS (formerly known as Student Aid Report – SAR) is an online document acknowledging the processing of your FAFSA. Be sure to review the document for accuracy.

Do not skip this step! After completing the FAFSA, click on the state application link from your FAFSA confirmation page to begin the NYS Student Aid Payment Application.

*A contributor is anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA (student, biological or adopted parent, stepparent, student’s spouse). If a required contributor does not provide consent to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA, the student will not be eligible for Federal Student Aid – even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form. The application will be rejected. Consent is required of all contributors, regardless of tax filing status:

  • tax filers

  • non-tax filers

  • foreign tax outside of the U.S.

  • contributors with no social security number

Note: Being a contributor does not imply financial responsibility.

Step Two: Submit an NYS Student Aid Payment Application
The NYS Student Aid Payment Application (I.E. TAP grant) is available for you to submit via a link on the FAFSA confirmation page. If the link is not displayed, you will receive a separate email from Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), which provides directions on how to complete the NYS Student Aid Payment application online.

How to complete the NYS Student Aid Payment Application:
• Apply at www.tap.hesc.ny.gov/totw
• Create, retrieve, reset your HESCPIN
• Use 2022 New York tax return information if applying for the 2024-2025 aid year.
• Include Guttman’s NYS School code 1421

  • It is important to include our NYS school code (1421) on the NYS Student Payment application to allow the release of the application data to Guttman Community College.

There are also many other NYS financial aid programs you can apply for, such as the NYS Excelsior Scholarship, the Peralta NYS Dream Scholarship, and NYS Part-time Scholarship (PTS). For more information on these scholarships and how to apply, please visit the HESC Grants, Scholarships and Loans website.

Step Three: Pay attention to your CUNYfirst “Tasks and Holds” and “To Do List”
It is important to resolve any items listed on your CUNYfirst Tasks and Holds listed on your To-Do List. Your CUNYfirst To Do List will display the documents or actions you need to submit to the Office of Financial Aid to determine your financial aid eligibility. If the To-Do List items are not resolved, then the Office of Financial Aid will not be able to process your financial aid awards. We encourage you to submit the required documents through the Student Forms portal promptly to avoid delays in processing your financial aid.

Benefits of Using Student Forms:

Student Forms is an online platform which allows you to submit documentation faster, easier, and on the device of your choice.

With Student Forms, you can:
➢ Complete electronic forms on your phone, tablet, or computer.
➢ Securely upload your documents.
➢ E-sign documents - both you and your parents.
➢ Manage and review your verification and other FAFSA tasks online.
➢ Receive automated reminders about outstanding tasks and next steps.

You can review your To Do List items anytime by logging into your CUNYfirst account, clicking on “Student Center” and selecting “Tasks and Holds”.

For example, if the “Verify My FAFSA” task is listed on your “To Do List”, you must claim your Student Forms account to submit view your tasks and submit your documentation online.

First-time Student Forms users:

  • You will be required to complete a two-step security confirmation by e-mail or SMS text.

  • You must provide a valid email address or phone number where you will receive a secure code.

  • You must verify that your first name, last name, date of birth, and social security number match exactly as reported on your FAFSA.

Important Information: What do I need to know?

Below are the most common financial aid policies to help you navigate the complex requirements for maintaining your financial aid eligibility for future terms. For additional information on financial eligibility and requirements, please visit our financial aid website.

Financial Verification

The U.S. Department of Education chooses applications to verify at random; this process is called Verification, and it is used to ensure the information reported on your FAFSA is accurate. To successfully complete the verification process, you must submit certain required documents to the Office of Financial Aid. Your documents will be matched against the information you reported on your FAFSA.

If your application must be verified, a “To Do List” item will be posted to your Student Center page in CUNYfirst (See Step Three above). You will also receive an email from the college instructing you what to submit to the Office of Financial Aid. After you submit your information, your application will be reviewed and, if necessary, corrected. Reprocessing of your application, if required, can take up to 2-4 weeks during peak time.

Once you have submitted the required information to the Office of Financial Aid, make no further changes to your application unless you speak with a financial aid advisor first. Your awards will be calculated based on information from your FAFSA submission and any verification documentation you may have been required to submit to the Office of Financial Aid. A Financial Aid Offer notification will be emailed to you once your eligibility is determined.

You can submit your Verification and most FAFSA-related documentation using CUNY Student Forms. This platform provides a secure portal for FAFSA-related document submission and electronic signature, making document submission faster and easier with the device of your choice (phone, tablet, or computer). You can access CUNY Students Forms by using your existing CUNYfirst login credentials. For more information on how to submit your required documents please visit our financial aid website. You can also visit CUNY Student Forms FAQ to access tutorials and learn more about CUNY’s Student Forms.

Financial Aid Certification Date

Guttman has a modular academic calendar that allows students to enroll in two sessions per term (Fall I/Fall II and Spring I/Spring II). Financial aid eligibility is determined based on a student’s matriculation, cost of attendance (COA), Student Aid Index (SAI), remaining financial aid, academic standing, and enrollment (amount of credits registered for). Your enrollment for the term (which includes both sessions) is locked on the 7th day of the term. Please refer to the Academic Calendar for details.

On the 7th day of the term, the financial aid office locks your enrollment, so it is important to pre-register for your Session II courses, if applicable, prior to the 7th day of the term. Your financial aid awards will be based on the enrollment locked in on the 7th day of the term. If you need to make schedule changes, the Office of Financial Aid advises that you speak to an academic advisor and a financial aid advisor first, as changes to your enrollment may affect your financial aid awards for the term.

Failure To Attend One or More Courses (WN grades)

If a student receives a WN administrative grade in one or more courses, it means that the instructor has reported that they have never attended the course. A WN administrative grade affects the student’s financial aid eligibility (for example, financial aid awards may be reduced or removed) and may create a balance, which is the student’s responsibility to pay back to Guttman Community College. A WN administrative grade is not eligible for financial aid and does not count toward your enrollment for the term. The student must visit an academic advisor (Student Success Advisor) and a financial aid advisor to evaluate how the WN administrative grade(s) will affect their financial aid awards.

Important Note: While a WN administrative grade is not eligible for financial aid, the course is still billed to the student which may create a balance on the student’s account. It is the student’s responsibility to pay the college any tuition and fee charges not covered by financial aid. If a student is aware that they will not be attending a particular course for a session, the student should contact their academic advisor and a financial aid advisor to evaluate their options.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

All Guttman students who receive Federal Title IV funding (Pell, SEOG, Federal Work Student, Direct Loans, etc.) and NYS Financial Aid funding must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order maintain eligibility for their financial aid. Failure to maintain SAP will result in the loss of future eligibility for Federal and/or NYS financial aid. See additional information on the SAP policies for Federal and NYS Financial Aid programs.

Withdrawals and the Return of Federal Financial Aid

Federal student aid is awarded with the expectation that the student will attend college for the entire period for which the student’s financial aid was intended. To establish eligibility for any federal financial aid payments, you must begin attending your classes. Once you start attending classes, the Federal government requires that you “earn” your financial aid awards in direct proportion to the number of days in the semester that you do attend. If a student completely withdraws from school before completing the term, the College must calculate, according to a federally prescribed formula, Return of Title IV (R2T4), the portion of the total scheduled financial assistance you have earned and are therefore entitled to receive up to the time you withdrew.

Withdrawing from classes can have both short-term and long-term effects on your eligibility to receive financial aid payments. For example, a student may discover after withdrawing from a class that their tuition charges remain the same, but their financial aid is reduced or eliminated. The student may also be asked to pay back money they received in a financial aid payment because they subsequently withdrew from classes. Then again, the student might find that they are not eligible to receive a payment in the current semester because they had too many withdrawals in past semesters. These situations can leave the student having to pay tuition bills and other school expenses out of pocket.

If a student withdraws – W, WD, WA, or WU grades are assigned – during a term or session, federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to apply a formula established by the U.S. Department of Education to determine the amount of federal financial aid earned as of the withdrawal date from the college. The amount of federal financial aid earned is determined by the percentage of time spent in academic attendance and has no relationship to the institutional charges the student may have incurred. Once more than 60% of the semester has passed, the student has earned 100% of the federal financial aid awarded.

Federal Title IV funds that are considered in the R2T4 calculation include Pell Grant, SEOG, Federal Teach Grant, Perkins Loan, Direct Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized), and PLUS Loans (Parent PLUS and Graduate Plus).

Students who meet the following criteria are considered for R2T4 calculations:
• Students who withdraw from one or both sessions
• Students who withdraw in one session and do not return for future sessions
• Students who complete a session but totally withdraw from subsequent sessions

Once a student withdraws, the Office of Financial Aid performs a Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation. The calculation determines the amount of Title IV Federal aid a student has “earned” by dividing the number of days completed by the number of days in the term or session. The percentage completed is then multiplied by the overall Title IV aid the student was eligible for had they not withdrawn. If the amount of aid earned is less than the amount disbursed to the student’s account, funds must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education.

Funds will be returned to the programs from which the student received aid during the term in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:

  • Direct Unsubsidized Loan

  • Direct Subsidized Loan

  • Direct PLUS Loans (Parent PLUS and/or Graduate PLUS)

  • Federal Pell Grant

  • SEOG

Federal Teach Grant

Important Note: If funds need to be returned, it may create an outstanding balance on the student’s Guttman account. The student will be responsible for any outstanding balance when funds are returned to U.S. Department of Education.

Unofficial Withdrawal

If a student stops attending classes during a semester and does not officially withdraw, they will be considered an unofficial withdrawal (WU grade is assigned). At the end of each session, the Office of the Registrar will receive grade rosters where the instructor notifies the office of students who have stopped attending the course. If a student stops attending the course and did not officially withdraw from the course, then the Financial Aid Office will run the Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation and determine how much federal financial aid will need to be returned to the U.S. Department of Education. If funds need to be returned to the appropriate program, it may result in an outstanding balance due to the college, which the student would be responsible for paying.

If a student decides not to attend Guttman Community College, it is their obligation to properly withdraw by notifying the Office of the Registrar or meeting with their academic advisor. Non-attendance of classes does not classify as an official withdrawal and does not relieve the student of their financial obligation or entitle the student to a refund.

Have a Question?

If you have questions about the financial aid application process or to learn more information about the financial aid programs available, visit our financial aid website or contact us directly at financial.aid@guttman.cuny.edu or 646-313-8011, or by visiting The HUB on the third floor.

Useful Websites and Phone Numbers

Federal Student Aid

New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (NYS HESC)