Presently there are currently 9 federally backed university grant programs accessible in the nation, and over six hundred state subsidized programs. This article will briefly go over the three most popular federal provided programs having need based qualifications. Federal merit based grants will be discussed in a future post. The approach for application for most of them starts much the same way which is to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA form needs to be filled out every year if the college student will be applying for assistance for that forthcoming year. Awards are usually arranged in one of two categories: Need based and merit based. Need based grants are the types where the university student will need to meet certain financial disadvantages wherein they would not be able to enroll in higher education because of lack of funds. Merit based grants are the ones where the college student qualified in accordance with one performance accomplishment or another. Below are a list of grants in the need based category along with a short description of each.
Need Based Grants:
Pell Grant Pell grants are provided based upon financial need because they are only accessible to college students whose family household income is $50,000 or less. While this amount of money seems low, The United States Government allocates millions of dollars each year via the Pell Grant program. Pell grants are paid out straight to the student's college and if there's funds remaining after tuition, room and board, and expenses are paid out, the student may decide how the rest of the money is designated.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) This need based grant is similar to the Pell Grant with the major distinction being that the college a student attends retains the authority to figure out how much money will be allocated to the student. Because of this there is often a range in the household family income threshold which determines eligibility for the grant.
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) The Academic Competitiveness Grant is based on financial need; but there is an academic performance aspect to it as well. Students who are eligible for the Pell Grant can also be eligible for the Academic Competitiveness Grant. As in the FSEOG Grant, the university chooses how much grant money awarded to the student but bases the calculation on the student's performance.
All of these grants need the student to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form which can be done on the U.S. Department of Education's website or by simply printing out the forms and mailing them in. Once the forms have been submitted and reviewed the student will get the Student Aid Report (SAR) which enables them to figure out how much they could be eligible for and how much their Expected Family Contributions (EFC) is. Dependent on the data included in the SAR, each college you've expressed an interest in will prepare an award notice, a financial aid package they are prepared to provide you in return for gaining you as a student.
Need Based Grants:
Pell Grant Pell grants are provided based upon financial need because they are only accessible to college students whose family household income is $50,000 or less. While this amount of money seems low, The United States Government allocates millions of dollars each year via the Pell Grant program. Pell grants are paid out straight to the student's college and if there's funds remaining after tuition, room and board, and expenses are paid out, the student may decide how the rest of the money is designated.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) This need based grant is similar to the Pell Grant with the major distinction being that the college a student attends retains the authority to figure out how much money will be allocated to the student. Because of this there is often a range in the household family income threshold which determines eligibility for the grant.
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) The Academic Competitiveness Grant is based on financial need; but there is an academic performance aspect to it as well. Students who are eligible for the Pell Grant can also be eligible for the Academic Competitiveness Grant. As in the FSEOG Grant, the university chooses how much grant money awarded to the student but bases the calculation on the student's performance.
All of these grants need the student to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form which can be done on the U.S. Department of Education's website or by simply printing out the forms and mailing them in. Once the forms have been submitted and reviewed the student will get the Student Aid Report (SAR) which enables them to figure out how much they could be eligible for and how much their Expected Family Contributions (EFC) is. Dependent on the data included in the SAR, each college you've expressed an interest in will prepare an award notice, a financial aid package they are prepared to provide you in return for gaining you as a student.
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Find out more about the TEACH Grant here at our website, then visit our site on how to choose the best source for all your needs. Click here to get all more info on the TEACH Grant.
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