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Financial Aid

FAFSA School Code = 001490

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Location: Panama City Campus, Enrollment Services Building, Room 135

Email: FA@gulfcoast.edu

Phone: (850) 872-3845

Hours: https://www.gulfcoast.edu/hours-operation.html

Financial Aid

The mission of Gulf Coast State College's financial aid office is to effectively and efficiently serve students who need help with paying for their educational dreams by delivering information and access to financial assistance programs while meeting customer service expectations.

Financial Aid Questions? Get Video Answers The 2023-24 FAFSA Form: What to Know

Meet the team

Financial Aid Advisor & Verification Specialist
FAFSAs With Last Names: A-L
850.913.3286
SBennett5@gulfcoast.edu
Financial Aid Advisor & Verification Specialist
Advising
850.872.3869
akelly15@gulfcoast.edu
Financial Aid Advisor & Verification Specialist
FAFSAs With Last Names: M–Z
Panama City Campus (Monday through Thursday) = 850.747.3240
Gulf/Franklin Campus (Fridays) = 850.227.9670 ext. 15519
AFritch@gulfcoast.edu
Financial Aid Specialist
State, Transient, & Campus-Based Funds
850.872.3844

Financial Aid Systems Specialist
System & Processing Support
850.872.3863
PVelezMat@gulfcoast.edu
Financial Aid Specialist
Pell Grant, Federal & Private Loans
850.873.3517
RRamsey@gulfcoast.edu
Coordinator of Financial Aid & Interpreting Liaison*

Director of Financial Aid
Administration of Federal, State, & Institutional Aid
850.873.3543
ubackus@gulfcoast.edu

Note

*Financial aid information will be provided to national origin minority persons with limited English language skills in their native language.  Ms. Backus interprets Spanish and will obtain the assistance of other GCSC employees with the skills necessary to interpret financial aid information in other languages.

*Información sobre la asistencia económica para estudiantes se proporcionará a las personas de origen nacional minoritario con conocimientos limitados en inglés, en su lengua nativa. La Señora Backus interpreta español y si es necesario puede obtener la asistencia de otros empleados de GCSC con habilidades para interpretar la información sobre la asistencia económica para estudiantes en otros idiomas.

COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions

A1: Yes, the financial aid office is now open again for face-to-face services. CDC guidelines will still be maintained, however.

If you're unable to visit us in person, then please email FA@GulfCoast.edu from your official GCSC account. Otherwise, feel free to call us at 850.872.3845 or any of the team member phone numbers detailed above.

A2: The U.S. Department of Education (ED) provided Gulf Coast with two rounds of COVID-19 emergency grant funding. The first round of funding (HEERF I) was exhausted in the spring and summer of 2020. The second round of funding (HEERF II) was exhausted in the spring of 2021.

Both rounds of assistance were designed to help students cover emergency expenses related to COVID-19 or for any component of the student’s cost of attendance, such as tuition, books, laptop, food, housing, health care, and childcare.

Funds from the second round (HEERF II) were awarded to eligible students enrolled in the spring semester of 2021 with no application necessary. Eligibility criteria include:

  • Enrolled in at least 5.0 credit hours in the spring semester
  • US Citizen or eligible non-citizen
  • Have declared a program of study
  • Priority given to student with exceptional need, as determined by the FAFSA

Funds were sent to students via direct deposit through BankMobile. Students were encouraged to set up a deposit preference, if they hadn’t already, by logging into myGCSC and clicking the BankMobile app/tile/link.

Visit ED's "Frequently Asked Questions from Students about the Higher Education Emergency Relief Student Grants" 

A3: Incomplete grades may impact your financial aid, so please email FA@GulfCoast.edu from your GCSC account if you have a question about your situation.

A4: Our faculty will be as flexible and accommodating as possible. We encourage you to contact your instructors, as they may be able to provide you options. If you are receiving federal financial aid (Pell Grant, Direct Loans, etc.) and are unable to complete a semester, current law requires the college to perform a calculation that may result in money being returned to them. For this and other reasons, we encourage you to work with your instructors and do your best to complete as much as possible.

A5: Per the U.S. Department of Education, GCSC paid FWS students who weren't working during the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19 for payroll #4 (ending 04/20/2020). The amount that FWS students received was based upon an average of the last three paychecks they'd individually received, minus hours that weren't worked during GCSC's originally planned spring break week.

A7: HEERF reports that are required by the U.S. Department of Education (https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerfreporting.html) can be found online as follows –

Per section 18004(e) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-136, 134 Stat. 281, GCSC's "Student Portion Public Reporting" can be found online at:

Per sections 18004(a)(1), (2), & (3) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-136, 134 Stat. 281, GCSC's "Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting (QBER)" forms can be found online at:

Gulf Coast State College does not discriminate against any person in its programs, activities, policies or procedures on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, marital status, religion, age, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. All questions or inquiries regarding compliance with laws relating to non-discrimination and all complaints regarding sexual misconduct or discrimination, may be directed to Lee Wood, Executive Director, Human Resources/Title II/504/Title IX Coordinator and Employment Equity Officer, Gulf Coast State College, 5230 W. US Highway 98, Panama City, FL 32401.