New Federal Student Grants
Two new federal student aid programs have been established to encourage students
to take more challenging courses in high school - making success in college more likely
- and to pursue college majors in high demand in the global economy, such as science,
mathematics, technology, engineering and critical foreign languages.
These programs, which will be available for the 2006-07 academic year, are the following:
- Academic Competitiveness Grants up to $750 for students in their first year of
college and up to $1300 for students in their second year of college; and
- National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants up to
$4,000 available to students in their third and fourth years of college who are pursuing
a major in mathematic, science, technology, engineering, or a critical foreign language
with a cumulative college grade point average of at least a 3.0.
All students must meet the following requirements: (1) be eligible for Federal Pell
Grants; (2) be a United States citizen; (3) be a full-time student, and (4) meet the
academic qualifications.
Each program has additional eligibility requirements which are outlined in this
document (.pdf).
Important Dates
| Late June 2006 |
States, colleges and students will be notified by
Secretary of Education of programs that are deemed rigorous for these grant purposes. |
| July 1, 2006 |
Potentially eligible students will be notified via email and regular
mail that they should submit additional information to the Department of Education
to determine Academic Competitiveness Grant eligibility. |
| Fall 2006 |
Institutions of higher education will verify student eligibility
using records of high school performance. Student aid will be disbursed. |
More information on Academic Competitiveness Grants and National SMART Grants can be found at:
www.ed.gov
|
