Frequently Asked Questions

At Bunker Hill Community College, the Financial Aid Office is committed to assisting students and their families meet the costs of a college education. Bunker Hill Community College participates in a wide variety of federal, state, and private financial aid programs.  The Financial Aid Office is here to help you through the financial aid application process and to help you decide how to best cover your educational expenses.

The first step in applying for financial aid is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is available online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. Filing the FAFSA is always free and Student Central is here to help you, if you need it. Please review our Financial Aid Dates to Remember for our current priority deadlines

Yes, tuition can be paid in installments. It is hoped that this plan will assist students in both budgeting and paying for their tuition.

There is a $35.00 administrative fee per semester for this service, and the plan is interest free. however, if your payment is late there will be a late fee added. Once a student has applied and paid the fee to Official Payments the student can make changes to the estimated contract amount through the BHCC Student Payment Office (617-228-2150).

You can view the types of aid you have been awarded by logging in to your account at https://selfservice.bhcc.edu/Student/FinancialAid/Awards.

Please be advised that due to privacy concerns, we cannot e-mail award letters, but a pdf version of your award letter is available in BHCC Self Service/

https://selfservice.bhcc.edu/Student/FinancialAid/AwardLetter.

Yes, you will need to file a new FAFSA for each academic year that you are enrolled in classes. We encourage you to file your FAFSA early, to give you the best chance of qualifying for the most aid. Massachusetts residents should complete their FAFSA by May 1, to be considered for the MASSGrant program. For more information on applying for financial aid please visit Apply Now.

No, part-time students taking as few as three credits can qualify for some types of grant aid. We encourage you to complete your FAFSA to help the Financial Aid Office determine what types of aid may be available to you.

Yes. Students that enroll in fewer than twelve credits will have their aid adjusted during the drop/add period. Remember, financial aid does not always cover every cost associated with attending school. Please be sure to review your billing statement and account information regularly. 

In order to have your financial aid information sent to Bunker Hill, you will need to add our school code to your FAFSA. Please go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and click on "Add or Delete a School Code" under the FAFSA Follow-Up heading. Bunker Hill's school code is 011210. It generally takes a week for Bunker Hill to receive your financial aid information, once you have added our school code.

Absolutely! Students that have already paid for their classes can still qualify for financial aid. These students would be eligible to receive a reimbursement up to the amount of financial aid for which they are eligible. In order to qualify for a reimbursement, students must complete their financial aid file before the end of classes for the semester.

Unless we specify that we need to see the original document, the fastest way to send your documents is via our secure online Form Upload site https://www.bhcc.edu/financialaid/financialaidforms/financialaidformupload/

You may be able to use financial aid funds to help with your book expenses during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. An agreement with the BHCC Bookstore, managed by Follett Books, allows for a line a credit to be made available for students who are enrolled in six or more credits and whose aid is greater than their projected costs. You can see if you have bookstore funds available in BHCC Self-Service at https://selfservice.bhcc.edu/Student/FALink/BookSpending

Please remember that adding or dropping courses may change the amount of financial aid that you are eligible to use in the bookstore.

When you receive an award letter, you are considered to have "pending" financial aid. This allows you to use your anticipated financial aid award to help pay your tuition, fees, and may make you eligible for a book advance to help with book costs. Your actual financial aid dollars will be credited to your account during the middle of the semester, after your enrollment level has been verified, book advance charges have been added to your account, and all NA grades have been reported to our office.  Any financial aid funds that are left after your charges are paid will be refunded to you via your selected refund preference. For more information about BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc visit this link: https://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoices/. This generally happens in late October for the Fall semester and in early April for the Spring semester.

It might. For information on how withdrawing from a class may change your financial aid award, please visit Issues That May Affect Your Aid. Students that withdraw from all of their classes are to having their financial aid award recalculated.  For more information on how this is done, please visit Return of Title IV Funds Policy. Please be aware that withdrawing from multiple classes may impact your ability to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and make you ineligible for future financial aid. For more information on Satisfactory Academic Progress, please visit Satisfactory Academic Progress.

If you decide not to enroll during a semester, the financial aid shown on your award letter will be cancelled. Students that change their credit load during the drop/add period will have their financial aid award adjusted appropriately. Adding credits after the drop/add period is over will not change the student's financial aid award. Dropping credits after the end of the drop/add period may change a students eligibility for some awards, such as the MASSGrant and Stafford loans. If you are thinking of dropping classes, please contact the Financial Aid Office before you drop to see how you will be impacted.

Students who completely withdraw from the college after the drop/add period of an academic semester should understand the following: The U.S. Department of Education and the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Aid mandate that a calculation be performed to determine how much financial aid the student has earned at the time the student completely withdraws from the college and award that amount to the student. The calculation and the complete policy can be found in the BHCC Catalog. Please Note: After this calculation has been completed a revised financial aid award letter will be mailed to the student and a balance may be owed to the college. The student then will need to contact the Student Payment Office to arrange to pay any financial obligations to BHCC. If you borrowed funds through the Federal Stafford student loan, you must contact the Financial Aid Office to complete an Exit Interview. You should also contact your Stafford Lender to set up a repayment schedule before your grace period ends.

Due to federal regulations, students that do not pass any of their classes in a given semester may become ineligible for up to 50 percent of their financial aid award. Grades are reviewed after each semester. For more information, please view Withdrawals.

In order to qualify for financial aid, student must be matriculated (accepted) into a degree or certificate program. Students that are just taking classes and are not enrolled in a degree or certificate program are not eligible for  financial aid. 

In order to qualify for financial aid, student must be matriculated (accepted) into a degree or certificate program at Bunker Hill. If you are enrolled at another college or university and are not transferring to Bunker Hill, you should discuss your  options with the financial aid office at your current school.

No. Unfortunately, you will need to choose which school receives your Pell grant. The Department of Education only allows students to receive Pell grant funds at one school per semester. Please let Student Central know if you are enrolled in more than one college so that we can help you decide which school should receive your Pell grant.

Financial aid is credited to your account during the middle of the academic semester. If you receive aid which totals more than your academic costs and bookstore charges, you will receive a refund through your selected refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements. For more information about BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc, visit this link: http://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoices/.