Receiving A Grant For Online Education

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:13:56 EST

Federal financial aid is like free money. Get a grant and you neverhave to repay the government. If you need money to pursue your degree,there are more funds available this year whether you're studying onlineor in class.

Students first need to fill out a "free application for federal studentaid" also called a FAFSA. The application makes students eligible forall federal, state and some private scholarship programs. The money isgood at more than five thousand institutions utilize federal grantmoney. Remember the library is a great source of information andprovides computers if you don't have your own.

The U-S Department of Education distributes grants based on financialneed. Students must be pursuing an undergraduate degree or aprofessional degree. The money is awarded based on family income andexpenses. Only 10% of student who get Pell Grants came from familiesearning more than $41,000 a year.

Pell Grants are the base for federal financial aid. Students can pileother scholarships and awards onto the initial amount. There arehundreds of other grants and scholarships. Some are offered forspecific degrees, like nursing or careers in public service. Somestates also offer their own grant programs. There is one catch, you canonly use your grant money at one school at a time.

Online students can qualify for Pell Grants, but they usually mustenroll in high demand careers like science or education. But there aregrants available if your getting a degree online. If a student'sfinancial needs is desperate they can apply for Federal SupplementalEducational Opportunity Grant. The Academic Competitiveness Grantbenefits students who graduated from an academically rigorous highschool program.

The amount of money a student gets is the same every school year. It'sdetermined not only by financial need, but also tuition costs andenrollment. There are even special benefits for students whose parentor guardian died in military service after the 9-11 attacks.

The Federal government has raised the amount of grant money availableto each student for the 2010 to 2011 school year by $300. The money ispaid at least twice per academic year. It may go directly to thestudent or to the school to put towards tuition.

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Receiving A Grant For Online Education