The Office of Financial Aid is getting ready to disperse two new grants that they have just received monies for. These grants and their requirements are coming from the Federal government. They will come into affect for this academic school year, 2006 to 2007.
“These grants were approved in Jul. of 2006, but the regulations and requirements were just given to us in a conference that was held just this week,” said Laura M. Elizondo, director of the Office of Financial Aid.
“The office will be working very diligently to try to get the students who qualified for the spring semester their money over the holidays,” she added.
The first of the two grants is the ACG or the Academic Competitiveness Grant. This grant is divided into two different eligibility groups; the first year program and the second year program.
The first year program is for students who graduated from high school after Jan. 2006.
The requirements for both of the programs are as follows: the students must be U.S. Citizens, Pell Grant recipients (any amount), enrolled full-time, in a degree-seeking program, and must have graduated high school with a rigorous program (recommended or higher). This grant is a need-based grant. The maximum amount for the first year program is $750 yearly. This amount would be split between the spring and fall semesters. Once you have received this grant, you must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA to be eligible for the second year program.
The second year program has the same requirements as mentioned above. The major difference is the amount the student will receive. For the second year program the amount is $1300 yearly which will be divided between the semesters. Those students who receive this grant in their second year will not be able to renew it since the program is only a two-year program.
The second grant is the SMART Grant or the Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant. This grant is only available to students in their third and fourth year, and in the degree plans that are specified. The basic requirements are the same as those for the ACG Grant, but the biggest difference is definitely that this grant is a semester grant, not a yearly grant. This means every semester the Financial Aid office will make sure that the students receiving this money are still in the specified degree plans, enrolled for 12 hours, and finish with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. The degree plans that are eligible for this grant would include computer science, engineering, technology, life science, mathematics, physical science, and certain designated foreign languages (not including Spanish). The amount for this grant is $2000 per semester.
These grants are definitely going to help many deserving students.
Elizondo said, “If all goes well some students should be receiving money back in their TAMIU One Card over the holiday season.”
The Office of Financial Aid will be working hard to make sure all students who meet the requirements get their money.