Determining Financial Need

About

We want you to get the financial aid you need and deserve, so you can continue reaching out and moving up at TCC.

So how do we figure out how much money to give you for classes? 

The amount of assistance students receive is based on the demonstrated "need."

The Financial Need Formula

Financial need is the difference between the cost of education (tuition, books and supplies, housing and food, personal and transportation expenses) and the Student Aid Index (determined by the information provided on the FAFSA or WASFA) and other financial assistance (scholarships, etc.)

Cost of Attendance —(minus) Student Aid Index —(minus) Other Financial Assistance (scholarships, etc.) = Financial Need

2025-2026 Approximate Cost of Attendance for 3 quarters at TCC (*Associate/Certificate programs):

Expense	Not Living with Parents**
Tuition/Fees* (12 credits)	$ 5,033
Books and Supplies	$ 528
Housing**	$ 12,266
Food**	$ 5,436
Personal	$ 1,908
Transportation	$ 2,790
Total***	$ 27,961

*Nonresident tuition and fees are higher; class fees are additional (class fees are displayed in class schedule for individual classes). Bachelor of Applied Science programs have higher tuition costs; please reference the tuition and fees page for these costs; as well as the breakdown of tuition costs per credit hour.

**Housing calculations are based on students who do not live with parent(s). Actual COA could be lower if student lives with parent(s).

***Schools are required by law to include loan fees in the student’s COA. If you borrow a federal loan, a loan fee average will be added to the COA.

Please note: Financial aid cannot be relied on to cover all the costs of attending college. The amount of aid you may be eligible for may or may not be enough to cover your costs for tuition and books.

Due to limited funds and a large volume of requests, TCC cannot meet all the financial need of students wanting assistance.