• Demonstrate financial need for most programs.
• Have a High School diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or the student must pass an independently-administered test approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Be enrolled as a degree student in an eligible program.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Have a valid Social Security Number.
• Make satisfactory academic progress, according to Union County College standards.
• Must not be in default on a previously awarded student loan or owe a refund on a previously awarded grant.

Students with disabilities who do not have a high school diploma and are seeking financial aid must provide written documentation of their disability in order to take the Ability to Benefit test with accommodations. This must include a diagnosis and recommended testing accommodations by a learning disabilities specialist, licensed psychologist, medical physician or a record of such a determination by a secondary school or a vocational rehabilitation agency including a diagnosis and recommended testing accommodations.