<p>Is there a limit on how many semesters a student can receive the National SMART Grant? The information I am reading says it is for third- and fourth-year students.</p>
<p>My son will soon be starting the spring semester of his second year, but due to testing out of some math classes early on he has achieved Junior Standing as far as overall credits. According to his financial aid update, they are awarding him a $2000 SMART grant for spring semester instead of the $650 Academic Competitive Grant he received first semester.</p>
<p>That means he will have received Academic Competitive Grant for three semesters total. Even though he has officially achieved junior standing, he will need to attend five more semesters (a total of eight semesters/four years) in order to complete his degree requirements. </p>
<p>Will he be eligible for the SMART grant for the five semesters that he is a junior/senior? Or is there a limit of four semesters?</p>
<p>per the website: Student</a> Aid on the Web</p>
<p>How Much Can A Student Receive?
A National SMART Grant will provide up to $4,000 for each of the third and fourth years of undergraduate study to full-time students who are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and who are majoring in physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, or engineering or in a foreign language determined critical to national security.</p>
<p>somemom,</p>
<p>What I'm not understanding is that the college is actually awarding the SMART grant in his second year.</p>
<p>1st Year: ACG, first and second semester
2nd Year: ACG $650 first semester, SMART $2000 second semester</p>
<p>Going along those lines, it seems like he will be getting-
3rd Year: SMART $2000 1st and 2nd semester
4th Year: SMART $2000 first semester; $0 second semester</p>
<p>If that's the case, he is losing out on $650 of the ACG that he would have otherwise been eligible for since he is NOT receiving it for his first two years in college (only three of the first four semesters). The fact that he already has junior standing as far as credits seems to be complicating the situation, because he will need four years to complete his degree, so it is that last semester that I'm worried about financially.</p>
<p>...and please don't get me wrong, we are VERY grateful for the help that these grants provide, so I hope this isn't viewed as me complaining. I'm just confused and trying to maximize the situation for my son so he can minimize college loans in the long run.</p>