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 Student Aid Index and your estimated Cost of Attendance at SC4.

Your FAFSA results determine your Student Aid Index (SAI) 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 SAI, which is made up of two parts:

Parent contribution: The amount parents are expected to contribute based on their income, assets, and other relevant financial details, including family size. The parent contribution is only calculated into the SAI of dependent students.

Student contribution: This is the portion of the SAI 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 2026-27 Cost of Attendance Information:

Based on 2026-27 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living with Parent(s)

	In-District	Out-of-District	Out-of State	In District with Meal Plan	Out-District with Meal Plan
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)	$5,536	$9,234	$12,826	$5,536	$9,234
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828
Transportation	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)	$4,640	$4,640	$4,640	$10,802	$10,802
Personal/Miscellaneous	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692
Average Direct Loan Fees	$60	$60	$60	$60	$60
Total	$17,042	$20,740	$24,332	$23,204	$26,902

Based on 2026-27 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living Off-Campus [Not with Parent(s)]

	In District	Out-of-District	Out-of-State	In-District with Meal Plan	Out-District with Meal Plan
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)	$5,536	$9,234	$12,826	$5,536	$9,234
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828
Transportation	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)	$9,280	$9,280	$9,280	$13,204	$13,204
Personal/Miscellaneous	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692
Average Direct Loan Fees	$60	$60	$60	$60	$60
Total	$21,682	$25,380	$28,972	$25,606	$29,304

Based on 2026-27 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)	$5,536
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,828
Transportation	$1,648
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)	$15,840
Personal/Miscellaneous	$1,692
Average Direct Loan Fees	$60
Total	$26,604

Health Care Programs (Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Technology) Based on 2026-27 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living with Parent(s)

	In District	Out-of-District	Out-of-State	In District with Meal Plan	Out-District with Meal Plan
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)	$7,102	$10,774	$14,364	$7,102	$10,774
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828
Transportation	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)	$4,640	$4,640	$4,640	$10,802	$10,802
Personal/Miscellaneous	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692
Average Direct Loan Fees	$60	$60	$60	$60	$60
Total	$18,608	$22,280	$25,870	$24,770	$28,442

Health Care Programs (Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Technology) Based on 2026-27 Fall/Winter Enrollment, Full-Time Student, Living Off-Campus [Not with Parent(s)] 

	In District	Out-of-District	Out-of-State	In District with Meal Plan	Out-District with Meal Plan
Tuition and Fees (27 contact hours)	$7,102	$10,774	$14,364	$7,102	$10,774
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828	$1,828
Transportation	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286	$3,286
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)	$9,280	$9,280	$9,280	$13,204	$13,204
Personal/Miscellaneous	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692	$1,692
Average Direct Loan Fees	$60	$60	$60	$60	$60
Total	$23,248	$26,920	$30,510	$27,172	$30,844

Health Care Programs (Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Technology) Based on 2026-27 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)	$7,102
Books, Course Materials, Supplies and Equipment	$1,828
Transportation	$1,648
Living Expenses (Housing and Food)	$15,840
Personal/Miscellaneous	$1,692
Average Direct Loan Fees	$60
Total	$28,170

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

Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need