Meet with your High School Guidance Counselor
(Skip this step and move forward if you have already graduated from high school.)
- Schedule an appointment to meet with your high school guidance counselor in order
to get a better understanding of the transition from high school to college.
- Write down all questions you have about attending college and ask the guidance counselor,
if any of your high school course work may qualify for college credit, and most importantly,
ask for any current printed information they have about financial aid.
Apply Online for Admission to Oakland Community College
- Apply online. OCC online applications generally take one to three business days to process.
- Make sure you provide your Social Security number when applying to the college; without
a Social Security number, your FAFSA application will not arrive at the college.
Log on MyOCC and Activate Your OCC Student E-Mail
- Go to MyOCC
- Activate your OCC student e-mail account, which is required for registration. This
email address is the only way the college will communicate with you - check it often!
All OCC-Financial Aid communications will be sent to the OCC Student E-mail address
only; no exceptions!
Apply to FASFA!
- Apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Application to FASFA is only way to be considered for Federal Grants, Federal Loans, work study, and grants
offered through Oakland Community College.
- Complete the FAFSA as early as October 1 if you and/or your parents have filed an income tax return
for the prior year. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when you complete your FAFSA.
Complete FASFA required entrance counseling for Loans (Subsidized & Unsubsidized)
and master promissory note
- Once your FAFSA is approved, if you want to take a federal Loan you will need to complete the online
entrance counseling and master promissory note. Complete at Federal Student Aid.
Complete the OCC Placement Tests
Meet with an Academic Counselor
- Once you have taken the Placement tests, schedule an appointment with an counselor.
- Students must have a declared major of study in a Financial Aid-approved program in
order to receive Financial Aid!
Register for Classes
Purchase Your Books and Supplies
Bookstore Services
The OCC Raiders Store works directly with your instructors to ensure that you have the correct materials
needed for the success of your class.
OCC students can easily search for their textbooks by campus, semester, and course
section (Note: please make sure you select the correct section number, as different
campuses often use different textbooks for the same course). There is a prompt to
set up an account, and your selections are placed in a “cart”. Purchases are completed
with the student’s credit card or financial aid and then mailed directly to the student.
On the website, students can see Author, Title, ISBN, and our competitive pricing,
along with information if the book is available is new, used, eBooks, or rentals.
The Raiders Web Store is PCI-compliant and secure.
Rental Notes:
The Raider One Card has many functions:
Students are required to have a Raider One Card.
- Library Card
- Copy/Print
- iRoc Cash for Raiders Store and Cafe' Purchases
Financial Aid Award Adjustment
- If you want to make an adjustment (increase/decrease a student loan, re-award a previously
cancelled award, request work study, or cancel financial aid) during the academic
year of your Financial Aid, contact any campus location to request a Financial Aid
Award Adjustment form to complete.
- MyOCC Account for Rejection or Decrease of Loan under financial aid section.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Federal regulations require a student to work toward the completion of a degree or
certificate when receiving Financial Aid.
- Oakland Community College policy on academic standing if you are receiving Financial
Aid to pay for your education - Course Completion rate of 67% and GPA of at least
a 2.0.
- Completion rate is very important. If you are having trouble with a specific course
and thinking about dropping the course, call the Financial Aid office to discuss the
outcome of a dropped or failed course.
- Oakland Community College offers tutoring services at no charge.
- For more information read the SAP Policy
How Do I Get My Refund?
- Direct Deposit – In most cases, funds are available in 1 to 2 business days. You
can choose to have your refund deposited into a personal checking or savings account.
Login to MyOCC and click on E-Check Direct Deposit FAQs for additional information.
- Paper Check – Please allow 3 to 5 business days for receipt of a paper check. If
you do not have direct deposit, you will receive a paper check mailed to the address
on file with Enrollment Services.
- Refund dates vary by semester.
Guest Students
- Guest students are not eligible for financial aid.
TIP – Tuition Incentive Program from the State of Michigan
- Oakland Community College is a Phase One only participant institution.
- To activate your TIP at OCC, you will need to submit the following items to any campus
location -
High School Diploma or GED, MI Driver’s License/ID or Birth Certificate and the TIP
award letter.
- For more information check State of Michigan.
How Do I Manage my Student Loans
Work Study
- It provides part-time employment while you are enrolled in school.
- It’s available to full-time or part-time undergraduate students at Oakland Community
College.
- Make sure you indicate on your FASFA that you want Work Study and file a Student Employment form (JP11) with the college.
- Student Federal Work-Study.
I need to speak with someone in Financial Aid?
- All campus locations have the same access to student information. If you contact
an OCC Financial Aid office via phone, all calls go into one queue and the first available
person will answer the phone to assist you.
- In order to protect student information, if you go in person you must have a valid
form of picture ID (State of Michigan Driver’s License/State of Michigan ID/Raider
One Card with picture).
- If you call requesting information, be prepared to answer a series of security questions
in order for the phone representative to establish your identity.
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
For more info on specific questions about Financial Aid go to financial aid tv.
