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We are excited that you have decided to apply to Bergen Community College as a new or transfer student in the NJ STARS program!
If you have questions about qualifying for the NJ STARS program, please visit the NJ STARS homepage at bergen.edu/njstars. Please email [email protected] if you are having difficulty with any step that may prevent you from meeting any deadline.
You and your parents can access answers to most of your questions on the NJ STARS FAQs webpage, and view some videos on the page.
Please Read to Avoid Unnecessary Delays
NJ STARS Application/Contract
- Signing the contract is one of the final steps in the NJ STARS application process.
- Please do not sign the contract until after you have completed all steps below including completing your federal and state financial aid reviews and registering for your courses full-time. See the NJ STARS Application Process Checklist.
NJ STARS Application/Contract Deadline
- The deadline to complete the process and sign the NJ STARS Application/Contract is the day before the semester begins.
- Students signing their NJ STARS Application/Contract after their first semester will have to pay their tuition and wait for reimbursement from the State of New Jersey.
NJ STARS Scholarship Maintenance Requirements
- Please do not sign the NJ STARS Scholarship Maintenance Requirements online document until after you receive an email that your contract has been processed.
FAFSA
- Your financial aid review cannot begin until the FAFSA is in your student record and checked off as complete in the Financial Aid section of your student portal at my.bergen.edu.
- Be sure that Bergen Community College is listed on your FAFSA and that your Social Security number is on your college application or it will not be in your student record and your FAFSA cannot be imported.
- In addition, please be sure that you have indicated “Associate’s Degree” on your FAFSA.
- NOTES: New Jersey Dreamers should complete the New Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application. For more information, please click here.
Let’s Get Started (click each link for detailed information)
Read NJ STARS Fact Sheet for eligibility requirements.
Complete the Self-Identification Form for Prospective NJ STARS Students.
Follow the NJ STARS Application Process Checklist and complete all steps.
Read, sign, and submit your NJ STARS Application/Contract.
Maintaining your NJ STARS Scholarship.
Review the NJ STARS Fact Sheet for eligibility requirements.
For eligibility requirements, please check the HESAA website for the NJ STARS Fact Sheet for the year you graduated high school. Qualified students are eligible for five semesters after high school graduation, even if they attended another college/university.
Complete the Self-Identification Form for Prospective NJ STARS Students.
If you qualify and are interested in applying to the NJ STARS program at Bergen Community College, please download the Self-Identification Form for Prospective NJ STARS Students, right-click on the form, and “Save As” to your computer. Complete and save the form again and email it as soon as possible to [email protected], the NJ STARS Representative so you can be identified as a Prospective NJ STARS student in your college record.
When you self-identify, protection will be added to your student record so your courses will not be dropped for non-payment. Protection is typically added to prospective and current students’ records in July for Fall semesters and December for Spring semesters and will appear in notifications on the Self-Service homepage in students’ portals as “NJ STARS Student PROTECTION.”
When you submit your Self-Identification Form, you will be waived from taking placement tests, but only after proof of your NJ STARS eligibility is received approximately in mid-February of qualified students’ senior year of high school. Prospective NJ STARS students can also be waived from taking the placement tests by other means as outlined on the Office of Testing Services website. Click here for further information.
Follow the NJ STARS Application Process Checklist and complete all steps.
The NJ STARS Application Process Checklist contains email addresses, web addresses, phone numbers, and helpful information you may need for additional help need to ensure all requirements are met, especially completion of the financial aid review process for both federal and state-based financial aid. If necessary, you can attend a FAFSA workshop. Please check the Financial Aid Dates & Deadlines webpage for available workshops.
Please be sure that Bergen Community College is listed on your FAFSA and that your Social Security number is on your college application or it will not be in your student record and your FAFSA cannot be imported. Please email [email protected] if you do not see your FAFSA in your student portal.
Check your student Gmail account regularly for important information, and to be sure you are not missing any information.
Students are not issued a student Gmail address until after they register for their courses for the first time. Then, all email from the College will be sent to students’ Gmail accounts. Please check your email/student Gmail accounts regularly to see if you were required to submit additional information that might later hold up the processing of your NJ STARS Application/Contract.
Read, sign, and submit your NJ STARS Application/Contract.
Please note: After all required steps have been completed including registering for your courses full-time, click on NJ STARS Application/Contract, and log in with your username and password. Read the contract carefully before electronically signing and submitting it.
Your contract will be assigned to an Academic Counselor who will verify that you are registered full-time in your program. If there are any issues, the assigned Counselor will email you at your student Gmail address, and once resolved, the counselor will sign the contract.
Once an Academic Counselor has signed your contract, it will be forwarded to an NJ STARS Representative who will verify your academic and financial aid requirements, check that all steps are complete, sign and date the contract, identify you as an NJ STARS student in your student record, and extend the protection on your courses so that they will not be dropped for non-payment. NJ STARS protection will end late in the semester since that is when the State of New Jersey typically pays students’ tuition.
If a contract cannot be signed due to missing information, please check your student Gmail account for information. The contract will be signed once missing or incomplete information is submitted. You will receive an email when your contract has been processed. A link to a copy of your signed contract will be included in the email, and a copy will be available at Laserfiche Forms. Log in with your student username and password and click on Completed Tasks. Any comments made in the contract are also in the email.
After receiving the email that your NJ STARS Application/Contract has been processed, please read, sign, and submit the NJ STARS Scholarship Maintenance Requirements online document.
Please do not sign the form until after you receive the email that your NJ STARS Application/Contract has been processed. Once you receive the email that your contract was processed, click on NJ STARS Scholarship Maintenance Requirements , read carefully, and sign and submit it. Signing this document will verify that you understand the steps necessary to maintain your NJ STARS scholarship. A copy of the signed document will be available at Laserfiche Forms. Log in with your student username and password and click on Completed Tasks. Any comments made in the contract are also in the email.
Submit your final, official signed and sealed high school transcript to the NJ STARS Representative after high school graduation.
Following high school graduation, you will need to have your final high school transcript containing your class rank and class size, signed by your high school’s Director of Guidance, Principal, or Vice Principal and sealed with the high school seal mailed directly to Bergen Community College. If your high school does not rank on their transcripts, the Certification of HS Class Rank Form for Prospective NJ STARS Students will need to be completed and included with your final transcript. For more information, please have your high school see the Proof of Academic Eligibility Required to Certify NJ STARS Students section at the bottom of the NJ STARS Information for New Jersey High Schools webpage.
Important: Please remember that all required steps must be completed to be officially certified as an NJ STARS student, especially federal and state-based financial aid reviews.
Maintaining your NJ STARS Scholarship
Bergen Community College will do everything it can to assist you in maintaining your eligibility in the NJ STARS program, but the responsibility for understanding and following the requirements is yours.
Every academic year, it is of the utmost importance that all financial aid (FAFSA) and state-based (HESAA) paperwork, and any additional information requested is completed by stated deadlines. Compliance will ensure continuous enrollment in Bergen Community College’s NJ STARS Program. Failure to complete all documents and provide all requested information may result in an unfunded semester, or possible loss of NJ STARS eligibility.
For information regarding maintaining your NJ STARS scholarship, please see the NJ STARS Current Students webpage