We understand that paying for college and applying for financial aid can be a stressful and confusing process. Our goal is to make the process understandable and easy to follow by providing the resources and support you need to be successful.

Getting Started

Financial aid programs are designed to assist qualified students in meeting their college-related expenses. There are several sources of financial aid programs students may qualify for.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

There are significant changes for the upcoming 2024–25 FAFSA, and as a result of the overhaul, the new application will not be available until "sometime in December" of 2023. These streamlined changes are aimed to make the application process easier for students and families. Some of the key changes are:

  • Number of questions on the FAFSA are reduced (from 108 to 46).
  • Number of colleges student may list increased from 10 to 20.
  • New and updated way to transfer your tax information directly from the IRS.

More information pertaining to the updates is available on the 2024–2025 FAFSA Changes page. Please note that parents and students are able to create their FSA ID prior to the FAFSA opening date. We strongly encourage you to complete that process now! Please visit the FSA ID page and click "Get Started".

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year to determine eligibility for the following:

Visit the Help page on studentaid.gov to get frequently asked questions about the FAFSA answered before you begin filling it out.

FAFSA Lab

Financial aid labs are designed to provide students with assistance in completing the FAFSA, Foundation scholarship applications, and to answer any basic questions you may have about the application process.

The FAFSA Lab at Cecil College is available as needed and we ask that you contact us via phone, email, or chat to schedule a time to come in.

Appointments are typically one hour and we recommend that you arrive to your appointment with the appropriate federal tax returns, W-2 forms, and any other additional income information you may have. Applicants who are dependents under 24 years of age require the presence of a parent or guardian.

For more information, please contact us at (410) 287-1003, finaid@nullcecil.edu, or using the chat on this page during regular office hours.

Foundation Scholarships

The Cecil College Foundation provides Foundation scholarships to recent high school graduates as well as adult students. Whether you are currently a student at Cecil College or plan to be, you're encouraged to apply for a scholarship. The period to apply is open from October 1st to April 30th each year.

For additional information, read the frequently asked questions about Foundation scholarships. If you have any further questions, please contact the Foundation at (410) 287-1053 or foundation@nullcecil.edu.

Scholarship Guide

For more information about grants, scholarships, loans, and other types of aid that you can apply for to help pay for your education, please visit our Scholarship Guide.

Cohort Default Rates

School PRGMS FY2012 FY2011 FY2010
Cecil College
One Seahawk Drive
North East, MD 21901-1999 		Both (FFEL/FDL) Default Rate 14.4 18.1 19.3
No. in Default 36 37 34
No. in Repay 250 204 176
Enrollment Figures 3274 3279 3113
Percentage Calculation 7.6 6.2 5.7

Enrollment

To provide context for the Cohort Default Rate (CDR) data, we include enrollment data (students enrolled at any time during the year) and a corresponding percentage (borrowers entering repayment divided by that enrollment figure). While there is no direct relationship between the timing of when a borrower entered repayment (October 1st through September 30th) and any particular enrollment year, for the purpose of this data, we have chosen to use the academic year ending on the June 30th prior to the beginning of the cohort year (e.g., FY 2011 CDR Year will use 2009-2010 enrollment).