For many of us, in order to improve our lives it will be necessary to receive higher education. Now is the best time to enroll in some kind of a college or university. However, enrolling and receiving higher education costs money. Some of you are thinking this will be impossible, how will I be able to pay for college When I'm struggling financially already? The solution is easy. The US Government provides many education grants for students who want to go to college. If you want to go to school, regardless of your economic situation, you can. College grants are the way to do it.
College grants are awards given to students by both federal and state governments. Also, they are one of the options available in the realm of financial aid. Very often these awards do not have to be repaid. They should be one of the first strategies you attempt to finance your education. Education grants are awarded based on financial need, eligibility and funds availability. Education Grants can pay for tuition and other college related expenses. These government education grants exist for both undergraduate and graduate students.
In 2009-2010 school year our government awarded $26,265,147,289 in total federal college grants. The average award across grants per student per year was $2,278 with the maximum award being $5,350. That is a lot of money per student. It is definitely well worth it to apply for school grants.
One website where you can do this is FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/)
Federal Student Aid Information
Phone: 1-800-433-3243
TDD: 1-800-730-8913
College Grants
Pell Grants
Pell Grants are the heart of education grant programs. A Federal Pell Grant is also the foundation for financial aid. This great grant was formerly called: Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOGs). It is your first funding when it comes to college financial help. Other types of financial aid and other grants supplement this grant. As with most of the grants this award does not have to be repaid. This grant program carries the most money and is the first grant you will be considered for when you submit your FAFSA application.
In 2009-2010 the average award for one academic year for the Pell Grant was $3,611. President Obama has proposed to increase the grant budget. The new proposal would raise the maximum Pell Grant award by $200, to $5,550 for the 2010-11 academic year. This would make additional 260,000 students eligible for this program.
The award amount for this grant depends on: students expected family contribution, cost of attendance, students enrollment status, whether the student attends for a full year or less.
Where to Apply
Federal Student Aid Information
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html
TEACH Grants
The TEACH Grant, also known as The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program, is a brand new grant for those who want to become teachers. This program was created through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The purpose of this program was to find more teachers. Students must agree to teach after they graduate.
In this category the average award is $2,941 per academic year and the TEACH Grant provides funding up to $4,000 per year to applicants who want to teach in a public or private elementary, or secondary school with one important condition: the school has to serve students from low income families.
Students who graduate but do not complete the required teaching service will have to pay off the grant as it will turn into a unsubsidized loan, where interest will have to be paid from the date the TEACH Grant award was disbursed. College students who want to receive this grant need to agree to serve as full time teachers. The teaching will need to be for 4 academic years and it has to be performed within the 8 calendar years of the graduation date. Applicants do not have to show financial need in order to be eligible for this program.
Where to Apply
https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action
National SMART Grant
The National Smart Grant is well known as National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant. National Smart program was established by The Higher Education Reconciliation Act as a main program to meet the growing need for math and science instruction. SMART Grants are available during the third and fourth year of undergraduate study only. The purpose of this program was to support students majoring in physics, mathematics, technology, engineering, life, computer science, critical foreign language, or non major single liberal arts program. National SMART grants are only available as the supplement to the Pell Grant. One must receive the Pell Grant first, before being able to receive money from the SMART Grant.
Maximum award in this grant is $4000 in academic years: three and four. Applicants must meet Pell Grant eligibility requirements in addition to a high GPA score of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Who is Eligible?
Education Grants were designed mostly for undergraduate students, but graduate students may receive these grants in some cases. In order to be eligible students must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment before they apply. Weather grants are awarded or not will depend on your FAFSA application result. Very often the school will make the decision if you qualify for certain state or school based college grants. Sometimes schools are not able to decide automatically. In this scenario you may be required to apply to grant administrator in order to be considered for a particular grant.
When you fill out your FAFSA forms, the information from that application is used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution, or EFC. This EFC report determines whether the student is eligible for a Pell Grants or not. EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution. This EFC is the number that is used to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid. This number results from the financial information you provided in your FAFSA application. Your EFC is reported to you on your Student Aid Report (SAR).
Where to Apply:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/ac-smart.html
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
ACG Grant Established by The Higher Education Reconciliation Act carries a role of a supplement grant to the Pell Grant. This is a sister grant to National SMART Grant. Academic Competitiveness Grants are available to students for their first and second academic years of college. Later on students can use the SMART grants for their third and fourth academic year. This is a fairly new program helping those applicants who take challenging high school courses and those who pursue challenging college majors. Students must receive the Pell Grant first, before being eligible for the Academic Competitiveness Grant.
About $790 million has been designated to the program in 2006-07 academic year and this program will have 4.5 billion over the next few years. Maximum award in this grant is $4,000 and in 2009 the average award per student per year was $787. In order to qualify for this grant, students must meet the rigorous secondary school program of study requirements. It is worth noting that not all students who receive federal Pell Grants are eligible for this ACG grant.
Where to Apply
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/AcademicGrants.jsp
Phone: 1-202-377-3800 - Office of the Ombudsman FSA