The Student Success Grant helps Grays Harbor College students overcome financial barriers that make it difficult to attend classes, stay enrolled, or complete their programs. Life doesn’t stop when students pursue higher education, and unexpected expenses can quickly get in the way.
Through one simple application, the grant provides flexible support for essential needs that directly impact a student’s ability to continue in school. Funding may help with childcare; emergency expenses such as unexpected transportation, housing, or medical bills; or past due tuition balances that prevent enrollment.
This grant is not based solely on academic achievement. It recognizes that students are better positioned to succeed when they have stability and support. By addressing real-life financial challenges, the Student Success Grant helps students stay focused, remain on track, and move toward academic completion.
If financial challenges are putting your education at risk, the Student Success Grant may be able to help. Please read the information below carefully and thoroughly.
Quarterly Deadline
Student Success Grant applications run on a quarterly basis. Below are the quarterly cycle deadlines for the current academic year:
- Summer Quarter Cycle: July 1, 2026 –August 13, 2026
- Fall Quarter Cycle: August 14, 2026 – December 11, 2026
- Winter Quarter Cycle: December 12, 2026 – March 25, 2026
- Spring Quarter Cycle: March 26, 2026 – June 24, 2026
As noted below, tuition debt assistance funds cannot cover a current quarter’s tuition. In order for your request to be considered, the account balance must be from a previous quarter. For example, requests for coverage of Fall 2026 tuition debt will only be considered in applications submitted on or after December 12, 2026. Students requesting payment of the current quarter’s tuition will be denied and instructed to reapply during the following quarter.
Please Note:
Once an application has been submitted, students should allow at least one business week for the application to be reviewed. Depending on the nature of the request, reviewing can take additional time. If a student has not received an update on their application within two business weeks of submission, queries can be sent to scholarships@ghc.edu.
Submission of an application does not guarantee funding.
For GHC Staff and Faculty: If you have referred a student to this application, please know that the Foundation staff is reviewing submitted applications as quickly as we can and will respond to students on a first-come, first-served basis. Personal requests for prioritization of an individual student’s application will not be accommodated, to maintain equity for all applying students.
Learn more:
Childcare Assistance
We recognize that childcare is an expensive necessity for student parents. The Grays Harbor College Foundation offers grant funding for childcare to help make that necessity more affordable, so you can pursue your education with fewer financial worries.
Eligibility:
To qualify, you must:
- Be enrolled at Grays Harbor College.
- Have a current FAFSA or WASFA on file with GHC.
- Submit your Student Aid Index (SAI) from your FAFSA/WASFA.
- Describe your current circumstances and explain how this financial barrier is impacting your ability to attend classes, remain enrolled, or complete your degree or certificate program.
- Provide documentation of out-of-pocket childcare costs (recent invoice or letter from a licensed provider verifying approximate cost).
Grant Overview:
- Childcare assistance grant awards are capped at a maximum of $3,000. Please note that the amount of funding the Foundation is able to issue is entirely dependent upon the student’s unmet need threshold, which is provided by the Financial Aid Office.
- Students may receive childcare assistance funds once per quarter. Students must reapply each quarter; renewal requests are not automatic or guaranteed. Request amounts based on the cost of childcare for more than one academic quarter at a time will not be covered in full, if awarded.
- Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served quarterly basis throughout the academic year, as long as funds are available.
- Funding is limited and not guaranteed.
- Awards are determined based on financial need (SAI and unmet need) and verified out-of-pocket childcare expenses.
- Grant amounts vary depending on demonstrated need, available funding, and the number of credits in which a student is enrolled.
- Awards are distributed through the Financial Aid Office and may affect eligibility for other forms of aid.
- If awarded, funds will be distributed during the academic quarter in which the application was submitted.
Additional Details:
- Childcare assistance is intended to help offset a portion of out‑of‑pocket childcare costs during the academic quarter and is not intended to cover the full cost of ongoing childcare expenses.
- Funding is designed to support enrollment‑related childcare needs while a student is actively attending classes and may not be used for non‑educational childcare purposes.
- Assistance is limited to verifiable expenses paid to a licensed childcare provider.
- Grant amounts may vary from quarter to quarter based on:
- Available funding
- The number of applicants
- A student’s financial need and credit enrollment
- Receipt of childcare assistance in one quarter does not guarantee funding in future quarters.
- Students must reapply each quarter and continue to meet all eligibility requirements to be considered for additional support.
Emergency Assistance
Life can be unpredictable. The Grays Harbor College Foundation provides emergency assistance to serve as a short‑term safety net for students facing one‑time, unexpected financial crises that threaten their ability to remain enrolled or continue their studies.
Emergency assistance is intended to address urgent, unforeseen circumstances—not ongoing, chronic, or recurring expenses—that arise despite a student’s best efforts to plan.
Eligibility:
To qualify, you must:
- Be enrolled at Grays Harbor College.
- Have a current FAFSA or WASFA on file with GHC.
- Submit your Student Aid Index (SAI) from your FAFSA/WASFA.
- Describe your current circumstances and explain how this financial barrier is impacting your ability to attend classes, remain enrolled, or complete your degree or certificate program.
- Provide an explanation of the emergency, including:
- The nature of the situation
- Why the cost is unexpected and one‑time
- The amount and purpose of the funds requested
- Any relevant supporting documentation
Grant Overview:
- Emergency assistance grant awards are capped at a maximum of $500.
- Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, as funds allow.
- Funding is limited and not guaranteed.
- Award amounts vary depending on demonstrated need and available funding.
- Awards are distributed through, and/or reported to, the Financial Aid Office and may affect eligibility for other forms of aid.
- Students may receive an emergency assistance grant once per academic year.
- In rare and exceptional circumstances, additional requests may be considered at the discretion of the Foundation, subject to funding availability.
- If awarded, funds will be distributed during the academic quarter in which the application was submitted.
Additional Details:
Emergency assistance is limited to temporary, one‑time situations and is not designed to support ongoing, recurring, or expected expenses (such as routine bills, long‑term housing costs, course materials or technology). It is also not designed to cover the entirety of large expenses (such as housing deposits, loan repayments, or extensive housing or vehicle repairs).
Emergency assistance funding cannot be applied to requests for tuition, fees, books, school supplies except in qualifying circumstances under the FAFSA Simplification Act’s Exclusion of Emergency Assistance from OFA guidelines, OFA-A5. For example: the cost of Nursing textbooks and lab fees are already included in the Financial Aid Office’s Cost of Attendance calculation for a Nursing student; therefore, these expenses do not qualify as “unexpected” under the definition of emergency funding. Receiving assistance does not guarantee future funding through the GHC Foundation
Tuition Debt Assistance
The Grays Harbor College Foundation provides past tuition debt assistance for students who have outstanding tuition debt at Grays Harbor College which is preventing enrollment. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, to help students return to school and continue their academic journeys.
Eligibility:
To qualify, you must:
- Be enrolled at Grays Harbor College OR plan to enroll upon the removal of an enrollment block due to a past debt.
- Have a current FAFSA or WASFA on file with GHC.
- Submit your Student Aid Index (SAI) from your FAFSA/WASFA.
- • Describe the circumstances that led to this debt and explain how this financial barrier is impacting your ability to attend classes, remain enrolled, or complete your degree or certificate program.
- Provide documentation of debt balance (statement from your GHC ctcLink student account).
Grant Overview:
- Past tuition debts will only be paid down to $299.99. This will lift students’ enrollment blocks and allow them to register for classes. The outstanding $299.99 remains the student’s responsibility.
- Tuition debt assistance funding is not designed to cover current tuition expenses.
- Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served quarterly basis throughout the academic year, as long as funds are available.
- Funding is limited and not guaranteed.
- Awards are determined based on financial need (SAI and unmet need) and verified debt balances, which will be confirmed with GHC’s Business Office.
- Grant amounts vary depending on demonstrated need, available funding, and the student’s purpose in seeking debt assistance (i.e., re-enrollment, degree/vocational program completion).
- Awards are reported to the Financial Aid Office and may affect eligibility for other forms of aid.
- Students may receive debt assistance grant funding one time only. A service indicator will be placed on awarded students’ accounts to show that debt assistance from the GHC Foundation has been rendered and cannot be received again.
- If awarded, funds will be distributed during the academic quarter in which the application was submitted.
