<p>Question concerning SMART Grants ~ </p>
<li><p>When are they distributed on financial aid packages ~ I know they are new and I do not know very much about them. Is there a date they begin to distribute?</p></li>
<li><p>If you are eligible for a SMART grant, I am assuming you are not guaranteed one, is this correct?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>IT is the ACG grant for the first two years and SMART grant for the last two years, I would think it would be automatically on your finaid like a Pell, but since it is new, if you believe you qualify and it is not there, ask!</p>
<p>I know my Ds ( an about to be freshman) financial aid package says that according to FAFSA she will qualify for the ACG but they (the school) have to see her final high school transcript to confirm before she is awarded it. So currently it is not listed - hopefully it will replace part of her loan offers!</p>
<p>SMART grant you have to be eligible for PELL, be majoring in specific things, maintain a certain GPA and be a 3rd or 4th year student (I read somewhere that you cannot have more than 90 credit hours to be considered a 4th year student for SMART - not sure if that is accurate). If you meet the criteria and have not been offered it then definitely ask. I think the award criteria for both ACG and SMART is a little tricky for even the finaid people to figure out so be proactive.</p>
<p>I haven't received my "official" financial aid offer yet. I keep checking online ~ I have been awarded my Pell Grant, but no mention of the SMART Grant. Should I assume they are not completed with the financial aid package and wait for the official notice through the mail? They also have a Federal SUB Loan and Federal Work Study listed also. Since this is my second year, I really do not know what or when to expect my financial aid package. Freshman year was received very quick because of decisions to attend.</p>
<p>Currently, I am a freshman at WVU, but listed as a Junior because of the credits received through AP scores, Dual Enrollment Credits, and College course credits through Upward Bound program.</p>
<p>They don't count the AP credits usually, though if you planto gradaute in 2 years, so are entering as an "official" junior, you could ask them to do so- my D has AP units, but they did not let her skip any time in school and they are not applying them as units for smart/acg grants</p>
<p>Just wanted to update for others waiting to hear about their ACG or SMART Grants ~ This is for College Sophmores and up...</p>
<p>I contacted FA office after I received my financial aid package ~ BTW, it is a great package! Anyway, they told me that they will recieve a list of students eligible for the ACG and SMART Grants. This letter will probably not be received until summer and they will update packages my mid summer with their ACG or SMART Grants. </p>
<p>FA Office also said that if I am eligible, I will received $$. He couldn't tell me how much because of my situation with being a second year Junior and AP Credits, etc....</p>
<p>Unless the FA Office means that the Admissions Office will provide them a list, they will not receive a list of qualified students. I know from some of my conferences I have attended that the Admissions Office is reviewing the criteria and providing a list to the FA Office....but the Department of Education does not.</p>
<p>Also, the Smart Grant is available to First and Second Year students. "Will you be enrolled as a full-time first or second year student in a two-year or four-year degree program?" <a href="http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/NewPrograms.jsp%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/NewPrograms.jsp</a></p>
<p>I thought the ACG was for first and second year, and the SMART for qualifying third- and fourth-year students...???</p>
<p>It is....I got it reversed.....sorry. My brain is fried from processing FA all day long. ACG is for 1st and 2nd year, Smart for 3rd and 4th.</p>
<p>I guess I will be considered as a full time second year student. I have asked FA Office, but they only told me that they will have to go by the guidelines that are sent to them (ie AP Credits, Regular Credit hours, etc) and that would decide whether I am eligible for a ACG Grant or SMART Grant. My problem is that I can not stand waiting. </p>
<p>I would like to know how much I will owe so I can plan out some jobs for the summer to save enough for gas for my car travelling back and forth to college and other expenses. Gasoline is my main concern and if I have to pay more for college, I just want to be able to budget that.</p>
<p>ACG for freshman this year (2006-2007) was $750, it was $1300 for sophomores. </p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>That is the MAX you can get. As a freshman, my son received $259 ACG based on our income level and/or the amount available at his school -- I'm not sure which. In any case, you are NOT guaranteed the maximum amount. It may depend on which college you attend. At his school, I am sure the vast majority of students met the ACG qualifications as far as rigorous high school course load, so it depends on how many were also Pell eligible -- then divide the ACG money for that school amongst all the qualifying students, right?</p>
<p>Brainomatic - that is interesting. Did your son have financial need still? I had assumed my D would get the full $750 and it would replace some of the loans she has been offered.</p>
<p>Each school is basically allotted a specific dollar amount which they are allowed to disburse for the year. Some schools are more than able to distribute each of the grants at their maximums due to low numbers of qualified candidates. Other schools are seeing minimal awards as their number of qualified applicants is rather large. I know our institution has been struggling to find qualified freshman and sophomore students who meet the criteria.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information Nikkiil - though it is probably not good news :( . I had thought it was an amount awarded to each student that was eligible - did not realise it was done the way you are saying. Still I would rather be prepared than get a shock down the road. At your school, once a student is confirmed eligible (we have to submit Ds transcript once it is available) do you reduce loans and/or Work Study and replace with the ACG? My D has full need met but, other than some merit money and federal and State Grants, there is a large amount of federal student loans (subsidised which makes us happy) plus Work Study. I was really looking forward to seeing those loans reduced!</p>
<p>It would depend on the award packet which was issued to the student. If the award packet already covered all of the students cost of attendance, then the loans would be reduced. If the award packet did not cover the entire cost of attendance, then nothing would be reduced, the new grant would just be added to the award packet and reduce the out of pocket expense necessary to cover the expenses.</p>
<p>Hmm, my D attends Berkeley, which I would assume would have a large number of students who would qualify for the Pell and would qualify for the ACG, since so many had such rigorous HS experiences, I had not heard any every one getting a partial, as in the $ being divided amongst the pool of kids. That would be interested to know. The Pell grant does not operate that way, why wouldn't ACG be from the govt to each qualified student, no matter which school.</p>
<p>Not that I have any knowledge, just trying some common sense...not to say the Govt should be accused of setting things up that are rife with common sense :D</p>
<p>Any one seen anything about this behind the scenes administration of the grant? It hardly seems fair that one could qualify but get less because of their school choice. And, not have been told up front before choosing schools, because the ACG of $750/$1300 can evolve into the smart grant for $4000, depending on the major chosen! Imagine giving up a large chunk of $10k because your school had too many recipients?</p>
<p>We were initially expecting the $750 so it was a surprise when it was so much less, however after doing more research I understand that is the correct procedure.</p>
<p>"Note that the amount of the AC Grant, when combined with a Pell Grant, may not exceed the student's cost of attendance. In addition, if the number of eligible students is large enough that payment of the full grant amounts would exceed the program appropriation in any fiscal year, then the amount of the grant to each eligible student may be ratably reduced."</p>
<p>I guess that's why it says "up to...". My son will be eligible for a SMART grant as a junior/senior since he is a math major (assuming Pell Grant eligibility, GPA, etc.), so I'm hoping that isn't drastically less than the $4,000 maximum.</p>
<p>I also agree, it's a shame some students get "penalized" simply because their choice of college has more qualifying ACG or SMART Grant Recipients than the next, but I thought by sharing our amounts at least others would be more prepared than we were in case they were banking on the $750/1300/4000 amounts.</p>
<p>I knew the SEOG was appropriated in the manner NikkiiL described. I did not realize that was true for the ACG and Smart Grants. My kiddos attend a very large OOS public with a HUGE Pell Grant recipient pool and an ivy, very different socio-economic range of students. However, both recieved the full amount of the ACG this year, $750 for the freshman and $1300 for the sophomore.</p>
<p>Counter that with the sophomore receiving only 25% of the SEOG funds that the freshman received. Again dictated by how much money there was to spread around a specific amount of students. So their SEOG funds varied for the same school year but their ACG amounts did not.</p>
<p>Both schools allowed them to replace their loans first, then their FWS with the ACG.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>This is why the write up for the ACG and Smart grants state "up to $xxx." This way, there is no reasonable assumption that every qualified student will receive the maximum listed.</p>
<p>Overall, the Federal Government isn't paying out as much in the ACG and Smart Grants as they originally thought they might...but some schools are "overpopulated" with students who are qualified, and that depletes the funding at that school pretty quickly. Last time I heard, our school still had PLENTY of ACG and Smart funding to hand out...especially since none of my students even come CLOSE to qualifying.</p>