CTDLC: Financial Aid General Information

In order to be eligible for Financial Aid you must be a matriculated student at a college or university. Matriculated means you have:

Applied to the college, paid any necessary application fees, and been accepted.
Met any other requirements for applying and matriculating as defined by the institution. They are usually stated in the college/university catalog.

The college/university in which you are matriculated is considered your home institution. Make sure you chose your home institution wisely.

You can only have one home institution.
You can only apply for financial aid from one institution -- your home institution.
In order to get a degree or certificate, you must meet the graduation requirements of your home institution.

Your home institution is the one from which you will graduate. In order to graduate you must meet all of that institution's requirements. These requirements are different in each college and are described in the college catalog. All colleges and universities in Connecticut, with the exception of Charter Oak State College, have a residency requirement.

A residency requirement has nothing to do with where you live, but where you take courses. It says you must earn a specific number of credits from your home institution and in some cases those must be the last credits you earn. Make sure you understand the residency requirements of your home institution, which are described in the college/university catalog, so that you don't take courses you will not be able to use for your degree.

You must apply for financial aid through your home institution.

The home institution's financial aid office can help you understand the requirements and forms.
The home institution's financial aid office determines your eligibility, your award (how much money you will get), and how aid will be distributed in the form of grants, loans, work study, etc.

Most member institutions of the CT Distance Learning Consortium are engaged in a Department of Education Demonstration project which allows students who are matriculated at a home institution to take distance education courses in other institutions and use their financial aid for this purpose. The college where you are taking the course is your host institution.

It is important that you talk with an advisor at your home institution to ensure that any courses you take at host institutions will meet your program/major requirements, not violate residency requirements, and count toward your graduation.

In order to be considered for financial aid at a host institution you must go to https://www.ctdlc.org/Financialaid/Login/index.cfm and log on as a student.