The federal grant program consists of five different programs which provide grants to college students. Billions of dollars are provided to students annually through these grant programs. The grants are disbursed based on the financial needs of the students, and academic achievement. They are awarded on a first come first served basis and do not have to be paid back. The grant programs have different criteria for qualifying and knowing the programs and the qualifications criteria makes getting these grants that much easier.
Getting a federal grant is made very easy through the completion of the free FAFSA application online at the government website, or the completion of the paper forms that can be secured from the student’s high school or college. When using the online form, a worksheet known as ‘FAFSA on the web’, can be used to accumulate and centralize information needed for completion of FAFSA. The information includes social security number, federal tax information for the prior year, driver’s license number, information on untaxed income, asset information on investments, business assets and savings.
All information regarding the student is entered in the online form. Colleges also have access to the FAFSA application and within minutes of a student’s applying, his school can gain access to the application and view his eligibility for grants.
The following are the five grant programs available to college students:
* The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and the Pell Grant are the best known grants available to students. These grants are available to students who fall into the low-income category, and are therefore referred to as needs-based grants. The amount of the award varies from $4000 to $5000 annually. These grants are available for a wide variety of college courses. * A new grant is The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides grants to aspiring teachers as long as they will commit to teaching in public schools for low-income students after they complete their studies. TEACH provides a grant of $4000 annually to successful students. * The national SMART grant and the ACG grant for academic achievement are awarded to students in amount varying from a few hundreds to a few thousands annually. The qualifying criteria for these grants are based on financial need as well as academic achievement. Before a student could be considered for these grants they must have already been determined eligible for the Pell grants.
Learn about student grants for college and college grants for students in your area.