Hawaii benefits for college students
What Hawaii students can get beyond financial aid: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance, Med-QUEST (Hawaii Medicaid) health coverage, child care help, phone and internet discounts and tax credits, with each program's own rules and application. Each section links to the full rules.
Checked against official sources October 11, 2026
Food assistance: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Hawaii's name for SNAP, run by Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS), Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division (BESSD). If you are enrolled at least half-time, you need a student exemption to qualify, such as working 20 hours a week, work-study or caring for a young child. If you are enrolled less than half-time, the student rule does not apply and only the regular SNAP rules do. See every exemption →
Health coverage: Med-QUEST (Hawaii Medicaid)
Hawaii has expanded Medicaid, so adults with low incomes, students included, can qualify based on income. All your health coverage options →
Child care help: Child Care Subsidy (CCS) program (formerly Child Care Connection Hawaii, CCCH)
Going to college or training counts as an approved activity in this state. Parents or caretakers must be employed, attending school, or in a job-training program; in two-parent families BOTH must be doing one of these. Gross monthly income must not exceed 85% of the State Median Income for the family size, and the child must be under 13 (or 13-18 if unable to care for themselves). The program describes itself as helping low-income families sustain 'employment, educational efforts and job training'.
Apply for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) program (formerly Child Care Connection Hawaii, CCCH) · Help on campus (CCAMPIS) →
Phone and internet: Lifeline
We found no extra state Lifeline discount on Hawaii's official pages, so the federal discount applies. Who qualifies →
Taxes
A refundable Hawaii credit equal to 40% of the federal earned income credit for people who file a federal return and claim the federal EITC; part-year residents and nonresidents prorate it. Hawaii residents can e-file their state return (Form N-11) free directly with the Department of Taxation through Hawaii Tax Online.
Hawaii Earned Income Tax Credit (Form N-356) · Free state filing · Federal education tax credits → · Free federal filing →
Keep looking
We explain programs; Hawaii's agencies decide who gets them. Spot something wrong? Tell us.