Tuition & Financial Aid

To learn more about Athens Tech’s tuition and fees, please visit our course catalog. You can also estimate your cost of attendance through the net price calculator.

Payment Options

If you’re looking to pay your tuition, visit one of these options:

Receiving a college education is something that should be attainable for everyone.

Our tuition and fees for one year are one-third the cost of other colleges and universities. Tuition is $100 per credit hour, and there are numerous financial aid and scholarship opportunities available. Our goal is to help students succeed without encumbering loads of debt.

The FAFSA Process

Financial aid is essential to having an affordable college education, and FAFSA is the first step in applying for financial aid. It’s important to review all of your options and seek the help of an advisor when necessary. Here are the steps for filling out a financial aid application:

Fill out the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) online.

Apply for Aid

Please have your Federal Tax Return on hand when applying.

  • You will need an FSA ID. Click on the links on the FAFSA form to Create or Retrieve it, if needed. If you are having issues with your FSA ID go directly to studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/landing
  • Students who are Dependents per federal regulations (born before January 1, 1997, not a Veteran, have no dependents, not married, etc.) will have to list their Parents’ information on the application as well. A parent must also obtain their own FSA ID to sign the application.
  • Athens Technical College’s school code is 005600.
  • Try to answer ALL questions accurately to keep from having more follow-up issues and additional processing time including the questions about your high school information.
  • The results will come into ATC two weeks after you submit your application. You may have additional requirements to complete so watch out for updates!

What is FAFSA?

FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.

All students must complete the FAFSA by no earlier than October 1, 2022 and no later than June 30, 2024 for the 2023-2024 school year.

Because students sometimes make errors on their financial aid applications, the U.S. Department of Education created a process to confirm the accuracy of the information called verification. Students are initially notified on their Student Aid Report (SAR) if the application has been selected for verification. The Financial Aid Office will contact the student by letter or email informing the student regarding the verification requirements. The letter/email will inform you if we need you to complete the dependent or independent worksheet and if we need any other additional documents.

Acceptable documentation may include IRS Tax Transcripts, IRS Tax Forms (1040, 1040A, 1040E, and requested tax schedules) and W-2’s. To resolve discrepancies students may be required to complete and submit additional documents.

Verification results that require changes to the applicant information and subsequent changes to the student’s financial aid package will be made prior to final disbursement of federal funds. For all students s eligible for Title IV aid changes are made to the student information electronically through the Department of Education’s CPS. The student will be notified of this adjustment through a revised financial aid award letter. If the verification results do not justify aid already disbursed, the student is responsible for repaying all aid for which he/she is not eligible.

Verification must typically be completed prior to the end of the academic year or before the student ceases enrollment, whichever occurs first. Students who fail to comply with the verification requirements, including submitting documentation within the required timelines will not have Federal Title IV funds disbursed and may have the funds canceled.

The verification documents should be sent to the Financial Aid Office in one of the following ways:

Mail to:
Athens Technical College ATTN: Financial Aid
800 U.S. Hwy. 29 N. Athens, GA 30601
Fax to: (706) 425-3086
Email to: Scanned copies to financialaid@athenstech.edu
Deliver to: Financial Aid in the H-700 Building, Athens Main Campus

Are you eligible to receive financial aid?

Documents needed to fill out a FAFSA application

Types of Financial Aid

Federal grants are awarded to students with financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These grants include:

  • Federal Pell Grant
    • A student must be enrolled in an eligible program. Generally, associate’s degrees and diplomas listed in the catalog are Pell-eligible. TCC’s must meet other requirements such as a minimum number of credit hours.
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
  • Federal Work Study Work Study Job Opportunities
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

Are you eligible to receive federal aid?

Hope (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) Grant:

Georgia’s HOPE Grant is available to Georgia residents who are working towards a certificate or diploma (continuing education programs are not eligible) at an eligible college or university in Georgia.

Student Access Loan

Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA) offers the Student Access Loan Program (SAL) for eligible students attending an eligible University System of Georgia (USG), Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) or Private postsecondary institution in Georgia.

The SAL is a 1 percent fixed rate loan, designed to assist undergraduate and technical college students who have a gap in meeting their educational costs.

Scholarships are an excellent way to supplement your financial aid award at Athens Technical College. This money is in addition to federal and state aid and generally does not have to be paid back. There are numerous scholarships from a variety of sources, and we want to help point you in the right direction.

Many scholarships will have an application deadline during the late spring months with the intention of awarding students for the following academic year. Scholarship opportunities do arise throughout the year, and we encourage you to check often. To increase your chances, you should apply for as many scholarships as you can. There are many students that have graduated from and are currently attending Athens Technical College that have received and made use of scholarships. They are well worth your time and effort.

The financial aid office is responsible for managing scholarship funds on student accounts. Please let us know if you have any questions about how to use your scholarship funds at ATC.

Athens Technical College does not participate in the Federal Stafford Student Loan program or the Federal Parent PLUS Loan program. Loans should be used as a last resort to pay for education expenses (tuition, fees and books). Students needing loans to finance their education can consider state and private loan options with a maximum cap of no more than $10,000 borrowed per academic year.

Private student loans are different from federal student loans in that they are not guaranteed by the federal government, require a credit check, and often require a co-signer. Terms and conditions vary significantly by lender. Carefully consider your needs, and then select a loan product that best meets your individual situation.

Private Loan Eligibility Requirements
  • Enrollment – You must be accepted for enrollment and enrolled at least half-time (six credit hours).
  • Satisfactory Academic Progress – You must maintain satisfactory academic progress in your course of study. *Complete 66.66% of the overall hours you attempt, maintain a 2.0 GPA and complete your program within 150% of hours needed as outlined in ATCs standards and statutory requirements.
  • FAFSA Required – You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine your Financial Need.
  • Non-Default – You must not be in default on an educational loan or owe a refund on an educational grant.
  • Loan Counseling – Required once your student loan has been processed by Athens Technical College. You will be contacted at your Athens Tech email to complete this requirement in person at the Athens Campus. No funding will be credited to your account until this requirement has been satisfied.
Georgia Low-Interest Loans

The state of Georgia offers a low-interest loan program to assist students. The Student Access Loan (SAL). SAL is a 1% loan and technical college students are eligible for up to $3,000 per academic year.

Private (Alternative) Educational Loans

Currently, students are eligible to apply for and receive loans from private lenders. ATC Financial Aid Office will certify loans up to a student’s financial need or for students without any financial need, loan amounts are limited to the actual costs of tuition, fees, and monetary maximum allowed per semester for books. To determine this, Athens Technical College requires that you have completed FAFSA on file.

Private student loans are different from federal student loans in that they are not guaranteed by the federal government, require a credit check, and often require a co-signer. Terms and conditions vary significantly by lender.

Athens Technical College offers an online loan comparison tool for you to use called FASTChoice . This tool is designed to assist you in making the educational loan choice that is best for you and provides a side-by-side comparison of the lenders, loan terms, interest rates, repayment options, and the ability to apply online. Please keep in mind that you may select any lender of your choice, even if they do not appear on FASTChoice .

Athens Technical College selected FASTChoice as the preferred lender tool for the following reasons:

  • Competitive borrower rates and terms
  • Loans are offered to community college students
  • Funds are sent electronically (EFT) when possible
  • Easy online application process
  • Longevity and stability in private loan lending

Veteran’s Benefits

ATC Veteran’s Services is committed to providing support to student veterans and their families to assist in transition from military to civilian college life by providing access to resources and services that will assist Veterans in achieving their academic and career goals.

FAQ’s

Per federal regulations you are a Dependent student unless you meet one of the following conditions: Born Before 01/01/1997 for 20-21 FAFSA and Before 01/01/98 for 21-22 FAFSA; Veteran or Active Duty in the Armed Forces; Have Dependents; Married; Been in foster care, orphaned, or a ward of the court since age 13; have court paperwork showing that you were assigned a legal guardian or emancipated as a minor; or be homeless or at risk of homelessness (with paperwork from a homeless liaison or shelter). Therefore your Parents information will be required on the application.

Your “Qualifying Parent” for FAFSA purposes is the Parent that you lived with over the last 12 months. If that is Neither, then the Parent that provided more financial support for you over the last 12 months. If that is Neither, then you go back to the last 12 month period in which you received Parental support and which Parent provided more support than the other. If the Qualifying Parent is Remarried then their Spouse’s information will also be required.

Yes! Marital Status is as of the date that you fill out the FAFSA. So if you are married on that date (or if your Parent is Married) then the Spouse’s information will be listed including income from the base year regardless of when you may have met.

Not a problem, you will just list all 0’s on the FAFSA in the place for the SSN. If they filed taxes make sure to report that it was a Foreign Tax Return. Also, without a SSN your Parent will not be able to make the FSA ID and you will need to use the Paper Signature page provided at the end of the application to be mailed into FAFSA (address indicated on the sheet).

We encourage our students to use this valuable tool! It helps with accuracy of your application as well as streamlines processes on the school end.

You can read details about various financial aid policies on the Financial Aid Policies page.

Call FAFSA at 1-800-433-3243

Financial Aid & Tuition Contact

Building H
706-355-5009

Cashier Contact

Building H
706-355-5121