Information is power, and giving you the tools to keep tabs on your aid applications and to see and understand your estimated awards and your needed and actual status is very important to us.
We want you to be able to get basic information BEFORE you call us. We want to help you stay in control of your financial aid application and eligibility.
To get the best picture so you can plan
- File all your aid applications early, carefully, and accurately - every spring for the coming academic year
- Follow all instructions and respond to all inquiries immediately
- Read carefully all the information on this site so you know what to do and what to avoid instead of waiting until you have problems.
- Register early and at your full eligibility status -- and stay registered at that eligble status.
- If admissions and financial aid ask you for documentation of something (for example citizenship) be sure to respond to BOTH of them with what is requested
- Check all of the on-line resources below regularly.
- Ask if you have questions, All of the following are very helpful as a start, but unfortunately none of them will tell you the entire story.
- Safeguard all your PINs and passwords,
- Please contact us with any questions about what you see, your status, or change of status.
1) eFAP ---
Use CUNY's eFAP (Electronic Financial Aid Processing System) to check your FAFSA and TAP application status and aid estimated and actual awards at CUNY - available through the CUNY portal
To get to eFAP, go to http://www.cuny.edu/portal and log-in. If you do not already have a CUNY portal account, select the option to register for an account and then log-in. Select Admissions / Financial Aid from the selections across the top, and then choose eFAP. Start exploring with "Application Status."
eFAP is an easy way to check CUNY's information about your applications, edits and problems. Your tentative awards may be posted here, but this system will not show you the complete evaluation of your eligibility for awards based on your registration or other eligibility criteria.
Please note: Only current students will be able to access financial aid information at this time through eFAP on the CUNY Portal.
If you have trouble with your CUNY Portal registration or log-in, contact the College's OCT Help Desk - see http://www.qc.cuny.edu/Computing/helpdesk/Pages/Welcome.aspx for instructions.
See also CUNY Portal and BASIC eFAP Instructions / Brochure AND More Detailed CUNY eFAP Instructions / Brochure (both prepared by the CUNY Office of Student Financial Assistance). While the CUNY portal part of these instructions is based on the last version of the CUNY Portal, the eFAP instructions still apply.
2) CUNYFirst - (see our
QC Financial Aid / CF student view crib sheet with screen shots for additional information)
Learn how much aid has been applied to your semester's tuition/fees bill at QC. Log-in to CUNYfirst and review your anticipated and/or pending aid and /or paid aid. NOTE that there is a lag of up to several days between when you adjust your program and when the adjusted anticipated aid is reflected.
After you log-in to CUNYFirst,
- read all Queens College Announcements and CUNYFirst Alerts
- select Self-Service
- select Student Center
- ignore the options listed under the bold header FINANCIAL AID --- there is no functionality other than a NONE AVAILABLE message behind those choices for any QC student in any category under the FINANCIAL AID bold header options
- select ACCOUNT INQUIRY or one of the items in the OTHER FINANCIALS pull down box
- from the tabs select PENDING AID to view PENDING AID, and to view paid aid, select ACCOUNT ACTIVITY
If aid you expected to be available for your bill based on your current registration and does not show here or under other tabs that show aid payments, contact us immediately.
3) NY Higher Education Services Corp (HESC) -
Check TAP application status with New York State after you have completed the separate TAP application on the web at the HESC site. At
https://web.hesc.org/hescpub/main?target=renderer_tap_student_inq&select=1, you can check to see whether you have completed the separate TAP application on their website, and what if anything they are waiting for, as well as whether you put our TAP college code on the application. You can also change your college code.
This system will not tell you whether you are registered at QC in an eligible way to receive aid awarded by New York State UNTIL your award has been certified or decertified.
4) DegreeWorks and FACTS -
Check DegreeWorks and FACTS through the CUNY portal at
http://cuny.edu/portal for important additional information related your potential eligibility based only on registration status for any NY State aid you may already have applied for and been tentatively awarded.
These systems do not know if you have applied for TAP or have an award; they are only evaluating specific parts of your potential eligibility in order to help you when you do apply to NY State and have a tentative award from the state.
Note also that an estimated TAP award from NY State is based on your reported and verified income information only - it does not reflect your actual eligible or not eligible enrollment status at Queens College.
You have to have BOTH an award from NY State * AND * be determined to be eligible based on registration here in order to receive a payment of the award.
DegreeWorks evaluates EACH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT'S progress toward the degree, and in doing so helps us assure that TAP applcants meet TAP requirements related to courses needed for your degree. FACTS looks also at ALL students, and takes the DegreeWorks information and other information to see IF you might be eligible based on enrollment and registration only ** IF ** you apply for TAP and receive a tentative award from NY State.
5) FAFSA.ED.GOV / The Free FAFSA web site -
Check FAFSA application status with the federal processor by selecting VIEW STUDENT AID REPORT. Is the federal processor waiting for something from you? Did you include our FAFSA college code on the application? Are there federal edits or verification requirements you need to respond to with us? Find out at
http://fafsa.ed.gov and login. You use your federal financial aid PIN for this one. Note: This will not tell you awards, or whether you are registered at QC in an eligible way to receive any federal aid you have been awarded.
