The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is a potential source of college tuition money for students who have exceptional financial need.
The FSEOG Grant offers a stipend for college that ranges in value from $100 to $4,000 per year. The grant money does not have to be repaid. However, only students with very significant financial need are eligible for this program. You also must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for the grant.
Most colleges and universities use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to evaluate a student’s eligibility for financial aid, scholarships and grants.
The FAFSA will determine your expected family contribution (EFC), which is the amount of money the student’s family is expected to contribute annually toward his or her college education. FAFSA results are sent to the college or university to determine whether the student will be able to receive grants, college scholarships or student loans. The student’s eligibility for the FSEOG program also is determined by his or her FAFSA.
Not all colleges participate in the FSEOG program. The schools that do participate receive a set amount of money for the program from the federal government each year. Once the money is exhausted, no additional FSEOG funding is available for that academic year. Because of this, it is important that students file their FAFSAs early if they hope to receive the grant. Financial aid experts suggest that it is best to file the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 of the student’s senior year in high school and every subsequent year of college in order to be eligible for the most aid.
Pell Grant recipients who have very low EFC are considered first for the FSEOG, and each school’s financial aid office sets policies for distributing the money. The size of the grant is typically based on a student’s financial need. The grant money is either credited to a student’s college account, distributed directly to the student or dispersed with a combination of the two methods.