St. Clair County Community College

High-quality, affordable education

How Aid is Determined

Financial aid

How aid is determined

Your financial aid award from SC4 is based on your financial needs. SC4 calculates your financial needs by taking into consideration your Expected Family Contribution and your estimated Cost of Attendance at SC4.

Your FAFSA results determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) each year. 

A formula called Federal Methodology, legislated by Congress uses information from your FAFSA and an analysis of your family’s financial situation to calculate the EFC, which is made up of two parts:

Parent contribution: The amount parents are expected to contribute based on their taxable and non-taxable income and assets, as well as considering living expenses (based on family size), taxes paid, the number of siblings in college, and asset protection for retirement. The parent contribution is only calculated into the EFC of dependent students.

Student contribution: This is the portion of the EFC that you, the student, are expected to contribute from your income and a percentage of your savings and other assets.

Cost of attendance

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimate of what it costs the typical student to attend SC4. The COA takes into account expenses such as tuition, fees, books, transportation, living expenses and personal/miscellaneous expenses. SC4 uses many different COA budgets to represent the estimated education-related expenses students incur. Some of the variables are whether the student is considered an in-district student or an out-of-district student, whether or not the student lives with a parent(s), on their own, or on campus, as well as how many semesters the student attends.

Please note that these are general estimations and may not include additional costs specific to a program of study (uniforms, equipment, tools, medical instruments et al).

If you have specific questions regarding the COA, please contact the Financial Aid office at (810) 989-5530.

Sample 2023-24 Cost of Attendance Information:

Based on 2023-24 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living with Parent(s)

 In-DistrictOut-of-DistrictOut-of State
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)$5,076$8,506$11,826
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment$1,672$1,672$1,672
Transportation$2,160$2,160$2,160
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)$3,992$3,992$3,992
Personal/Miscellaneous$1,656$1,656$1,656
Average Direct Loan Fees$    56$     56$     56
Total$14,612$18,042  $21,362

Based on 2023-24 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living Off-Campus [Not with Parent(s)]

 In-DistrictOut-of-DistrictOut-of State
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)$5,076$8,506$11,826
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment$1,672$1,672$1,672
Transportation$2,160$2,160$2,160
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)$7,984$7,984$7,984
Personal/Miscellaneous$1,656$1,656$1,656
Average Direct Loan Fees$    56$     56$     56
Total$18,604$22,034  $25,354

Based on 2023-24 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living On Campus (NOTE: students living on campus will be charged in-district tuition)

 In-District
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)$ 5,076
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment$ 1,672
Transportation$ 1,080
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)$14,500
Personal/Miscellaneous$ 1,656
Average Direct Loan Fees$      56
Total$24,040

Health Care Programs (Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Rad Tech) Based on 2023-24 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living with Parent(s)

 In-DistrictOut-of-DistrictOut-of State
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)$6,534$9,964$13,284
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment$1,672$1,672$1,672
Transportation$2,160$2,160$2,160
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)$3,992$3,992$3,992
Personal/Miscellaneous$1,656$1,656$1,656
Average Direct Loan Fees$    56$     56$     56
Total$16,070$19,500  $22,820

Health Care Programs (Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Rad Tech) Based on 2023-24 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living Off-Campus [Not with Parent(s)]

 In-DistrictOut-of-DistrictOut-of State
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)$6,534$9,964$13,284
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment$1,672$1,672$1,672
Transportation$2,160$2,160$2,160
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)$7,984$7,984$7,984
Personal/Miscellaneous$1,656$1,656$1,656
Average Direct Loan Fees$    56$     56$     56
Total$20,062$23,492  $26,812

Health Care Programs (Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Rad Tech) Based on 2023-24 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living On Campus (NOTE: students living on campus will be charged in-district tuition)

 In-District
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)$ 6,534
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment$ 1,672
Transportation$ 1,080
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)$14,500
Personal/Miscellaneous$ 1,656
Average Direct Loan Fees$      56
Total$25,498

Considering both Expected Family Contribution and the Cost of Attendance, your aid is determined as follows:

Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need