In 2014, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the REAL Hope Act (SB6523), also known as the Washington State Dream Act. This new state law expanded eligibility for the Washington College Grant and to low-income, non-citizen students who meet the program’s eligibility requirements and satisfy the residency criteria below:
- Have graduated from a Washington high school or obtained a GED® (or will do so before beginning college).
- Have lived in Washington for three years prior to, and continuously since, earning the high school diploma or equivalent.
*Students granted deferred action for childhood arrival (DACA) must also complete and sign the affidavit. To ensure you are applying on time, and you are meeting all eligibility requirements, please visit the WASFA website regularly.
How to apply
Step One: To apply for the Washington College Grant, low-income, non-citizen students unable to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) due to immigration status may instead complete the free Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA). To find out more information and start your application today, visit the WASFA application page and click on “Start A New WASFA.”
Step Two: Attend a college Information Session and apply to an eligible program of study at Bates.
Note: Eligibility for the Washington College Grant does not guarantee an award, as the grant is awarded on a funds-available basis. The sooner you complete an application, the better chance you have for consideration of limited Washington College Grant funds.
Getting started at Bates
After you have submitted all of the required items to the financial aid office, you will be sent a BankMobile Disbursements Refund Selection Kit. You will also receive a Personal Code by email which will be sent to the email address on record with the school. This is the college’s financial aid distribution service.
All students are also strongly encouraged to regularly check the ctcLink student homepage. To login into your ctcLink, you will use your ctcLink ID as your username and the password you used to set up your ctcLink. The Financial Aid staff is dedicated to processing files in a timely manner. If you complete your financial aid file by the deadline, you will be notified before the quarter starts. Files are processed in date order by your file completion date, which can be viewed in the Portal.
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Page Manager: FinancialAid@batestech.edu
Last Modified 10/01/2021