What Kinds of Federal Student Grants Might I Get?

There are five types of federal student aid grants:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
• Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
• National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant)
• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program

Pell Grant

• Pell Grant award amounts can change yearly. Pell Grant awards for the 2009-10 award year (July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010) will range from $609 to $5,350. For the Pell Grant award for the 2010-2011 award year (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011) the minimum award is ten percent of the appropriated maximum or $486 up to the maximum of $5550.
• How much grant aid you get depends on:
  • Your EFC.
  • Your cost of attendance.
  • Whether you’re a full-time or part-time student.
  • Whether you attend school for a full academic year or less.
• You may receive more than one Pell Grant in an award year.
• You may not receive Pell Grant funds from more than one school at a time.
  
• Pell Grants are the foundation of federal student financial aid to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources might be added.
• Pell Grants are generally awarded only to undergraduate students—those who haven’t earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree.
• In some limited cases, however, you might receive a Pell Grant if you’re enrolled in a post baccalaureate teacher certificate program.
• If you’re eligible for a Pell Grant you’ll receive the full amount you qualify for—each school participating in the program receives enough funds to pay the Pell amounts for all its eligible students.
• The amount of other student aid you might qualify for does not affect the amount of your Pell Grant.
• With a few exceptions, Federal Pell Grants are available only to undergraduate students for a maximum lifetime limit of 18 semesters or its equivalent.

FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant)

• You may receive between $100 and $4,000 a year, depending on:
  • When you apply.
  • Your financial need.
  • The funding level of the school you’re attending.
  • The policies of your school’s financial aid office.
• FSEOG is awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need—those with the lowest Expected Family Contribution (EFC) numbers.
• Federal Pell Grant recipients receive priority for FSEOG awards.
• FSEOG awards range from $100 to $4,000 a year.
• Unlike Pell Grants, the amount of FSEOG you receive depends not only on your financial need but, also, on the amount of other aid you get and the availability of funds at your school.
• Receiving other aid might reduce the amount of your FSEOG award.
• Not all schools participate in the FSEOG program.
• The school’s financial aid office decides how to award these funds.
• Each school participating in FSEOG receives a certain amount of FSEOG funds each year from the U.S. Department of Education. When all of those funds have been disbursed for that award year, no more FSEOG awards can be made for that year.
• This is why it’s so important to apply early to be considered for these funds. Not everyone who qualifies for an FSEOG might get one.

Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)

You may be eligible for a student aid grant program called the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). During an eligible student’s first academic year, the maximum ACG is $750; the maximum ACG for a student’s second academic year is $1,300.

To receive an ACG during the 2009-2010 or the 2010-2011 school year, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen;
• Be Federal Pell Grant eligible;
• Be enrolled at least half-time in a degree program;
• Be enrolled in the first or second academic year of your program of study at a two-year or four-year degree-granting institution, or enrolled in a certificate program of studies of at least one year (for first year eligibility) or two years (for second year eligibility);
• Have completed a rigorous high school program of study (after January 1, 2006, if a first-year student, and after January 1, 2005, if a second-year student);
• Not have been previously enrolled in an undergraduate program (if you are a first-year student); and
• Have at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale for the first academic year (if you are a second-year student).

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant)

Another student aid grant program you may be eligible for in your third, fourth and fifth (for programs requiring five years - 2009-2010 only) academic years of undergraduate study is called the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant). If eligible, you may receive up to $4,000 per year.

To receive a National SMART Grant during the 2009-2010 or the 2010-2011 school year, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen;
• Be Federal Pell Grant eligible;
• Be enrolled at least half-time pursuing a major in physical, life or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, engineering or a critical foreign language, or enrolled in an institution that offers a single baccalaureate-level liberal arts curriculum that permits no subject area major, but are taking coursework in an area equivalent to a SMART-eligible major at other bachelor degree-granting institutions; and
• Have at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides $4000 annual grants to students who plan to become teachers. In exchange for the grant:

• Candidates must agree to serve as full-time teachers at certain schools and within certain high-need fields for at least four academic years.
• The candidate must fulfill the obligation within eight years of completing the course of study for which a grant was received.
• If the Teach grant recipient does not carry out that obligation, the TEACH grant funds received covert to a Direct unsubsidized loan that must be repaid with interest accrued as of the date of disbursement of the grant.
• The candidate may receive up to $4000 each year for four years or a total of $16,000 for their first baccalaureate and post baccalaureate program combined.
• A graduate student may receive a total of two scheduled awards or a total of $8000 for a master’s degree program.
• Students enrolled less than full-time have the same maximums, but the annual awards will be smaller.
• A TEACH grant in combination with other assistance the student receives cannot exceed the cost of attendance.
• The student must be enrolled in a program and at a school that are both TEACH-grant eligible.
• The student must have a grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale or must have scored above the 75^th percentile on at least one of the batteries on a nationally-normed standardized school admissions tests.
• Students must complete a FAFSA and must sign an agreement to serve in order to receive a TEACH grant.
• Additional information can be found at the Federal Student Aid website https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action

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This content courtesy of U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, Students Channel, Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid, Washington, D.C., 2006.