Grants

If you’re an undergraduate at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) working toward your first bachelor’s degree and you have significant financial need, the Federal Pell Grant can help you pay for school.

Who qualifies

The U.S. Department of Education decides your eligibility using the information you submit on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To qualify, you must:

• Be an undergraduate student
• Be seeking your first bachelor’s degree
• Show significant financial need

Your award amount depends on your financial need, your enrollment level and the academic year.

Deadline: Submit your FAFSA by June 30 each year.

Complete Your FAFSA

How long you can receive Pell

You can receive the Federal Pell Grant for up to the equivalent of six years. This is your lifetime limit.

See How the Six-Year Limit is Calculated

Before your Pell Grant pays out

To receive your Pell funds, you must:

• Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards
• Stay within your lifetime Pell limit
• Register for all parts of term by the first drop/add deadline of your earliest term
• Complete your course entry quiz
• Enroll in classes that count toward your degree program. Pell pays only for courses in your program.

Other requirements may also apply.

Register before drop/add ends

We calculate your Pell award from the credits you’re enrolled in at the end of the drop/add period for your earliest term. If you add a class after that deadline, your Pell award will not increase.

Important eligibility updates

If scholarships cover your full cost: You can’t receive a Pell Grant, even if you otherwise qualify, when non-federal scholarships, grants or other gift aid cover your full Cost of Attendance (COA).

Workforce Pell: The Workforce Pell Grant Program extends Pell eligibility to certain short-term workforce training programs. Florida Atlantic does not participate in this program.

Enrollment intensity

Your Pell award depends partly on your enrollment intensity: the percentage of a full-time course load you take, rounded to the nearest whole percent. Full-time enrollment is 12 credit hours.

Example: If you enroll in 7 credit hours, your enrollment intensity is 7 ÷ 12 × 100 = 58.3%, which rounds to 58%.

Which courses Pell covers

Pell covers undergraduate degree applicable courses only, meaning courses numbered below 5000. The one exception is specific 5000-level courses in the Bachelor of Architecture program.

Federal grants generally require you to:

• Be enrolled in an eligible degree program
• Meet federal financial aid eligibility requirements
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress

The FSAG is a state funded need-based offer program for first degree-seeking undergraduate students attending public Florida institutions. Financial aid offers range from $200-$2600 per academic year, based on availability of funds. This grant is for one year only and is not guaranteed in subsequent years. Talented 20 students qualify for priority funding if FSAG requirements are met. Please bring a copy of your Talented 20 notification letter to the Financial Aid Office.

General Eligibility Requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• Be a Florida resident
• Must be a Federal Pell recipient
• Demonstrate financial need SAI -1500 to 9984
• Enroll at least half time (6 credit hours)
• Meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress
• Not be in default on a federal student loan;
• Not owe repayment of a grant or scholarship unless satisfactory arrangements have been made to repay.

The Benacquisto Scholarship Program is a merit scholarship for high school graduates who receive recognition as a National Merit® Scholar. Eligible scholars will receive an offer equal to the university cost of attendance for an in-state student minus the sum of Bright Futures and the National Merit® offer. An initial application is not required.

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen (as determined by the institution) and enroll at an eligible, regionally accredited, public or independent Florida postsecondary institution.
• Enroll full-time (minimum 12 credit hours per term) in a baccalaureate degree program.
• Earn a standard Florida High School diploma or its equivalency (unless the student completes a home education program or earns a high school diploma from a non-Florida high school while living with a parent who is on military or public service assignment away from Florida).
• Be a National Merit Scholar.
• Enroll at an eligible Florida postsecondary institution during the fall academic term immediately following high school graduation.

Renewal Requirements:

• Eligibility for renewal is determined at the end of the spring semester of each academic year.

For automatic renewal, an offer recipient will have:

• Earned credit for all hours enrolled by the end of the regular drop/add period each term.
• Earned a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

A student who does not maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA by the end of the spring semester of the academic year shall be ineligible to continue in the program.

The funds for this offer come from the State of Florida and are matched by the FAU Foundation. House Bill 795 was signed into law on June 2, 2006 and became effective July 1, 2006 creating Section 1009.701, Florida Statutes. This law provides financial, need based assistance to undergraduate, degree-seeking Florida residents who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens and:

• Attend a state University of Florida,
• Enroll at least half-time (6 credit hours) per term,
• Must be a Federal Pell recipient
• Demonstrate financial need SAI -1500 to 9984
• Parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree. If student resides with only one parent who provides full support, that one parent must not have completed a baccalaureate degree for the student to be eligible, and
• meet other criteria established by the individual Universities.

Please note that the letter refers to meeting Other Criteria established by the University. Those criteria are as follows:

• Submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
• Preference will be given to First Time in College (FTIC) freshman and Florida Community College Transfer students for the initial academic year
• Continuing students with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 will be considered if additional funding is available.

Funds are not available for the SUMMER terms.

Renewal Requirements: To be considered eligible for renewal, students must complete a minimum of 12 credits for the prior Fall and Spring semesters combined. In addition students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.500. Exceptions will be reviewed on a case by case basis via the university appeal process.

The FAU Academic Grant is a four year progressive need based grant offered to students who entered FAU as a new (non-transfer) degree seeking student. The grant will increase each year if annual eligibility and renewal requirements are met. To be eligible for this grant, you must be admitted as a degree seeking undergraduate student, have a completed FAFSA file, and demonstrate financial need. Offer amounts are based on academic profile and financial need. Actual disbursement amounts will be prorated if less than full time.  A minimum enrollment of 6 credits is required for disbursement each semester. Annual renewal criteria include a complete FAFSA file for the academic year, compliance with Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards, financial need, and a minimum of 30 earned credits at the end of the academic year for each year that grant payment was received (example: if you have received payment of the offer for the past 2 years, to renew in the third year, you must have 60 or more earned credits at the end of the second year).  Students attending Wilkes Honors College are not eligible for this grant.

To be eligible for the FAU Transfer Grant, you must be admitted as a degree seeking undergraduate transfer student, have a minimum 2.5 GPA, have a complete FAFSA application on file with a maximum SAI of 12,000, and demonstrate financial need. The grant is available during the fall and spring semesters regardless of entry term. FAU Transfer Grant offers are based on academic profile, financial need, fund availability, and the assumption of full-time enrollment (12 or more credits). Actual disbursement amounts will be prorated if you are enrolled less than full time. A minimum enrollment of 6 credits is required for disbursement each semester. Requirements for subsequent year renewal include have a complete FAFSA application, compliance with the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards, demonstrate financial need, and a minimum of 20 earned credits in the previous academic year that the grant payment was received. The duration and amount of the award will differ based on whether a student is transferring from a Florida College System institution with an AA or a non-Florida College System institution.

This grant is available to eligible students whose parents or guardians died as a result of a U.S. military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 and who are not eligible for the Federal Pell Grant. If your parent(s) or guardian(s) died as a result of U.S. military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 and you are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, you may qualify for an increase. Students must:

• complete the FAFSA
• have been 23 years of age or younger when the parent or guardian died, or must have been enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or guardian's death, if over the age of 23
• meet all Title IV student eligibility requirements

Applicants with an Student Aid Index (SAI) that is not Federal Pell-eligible, are eligible to receive an offer under the IASG program. The amount of the IASG offer is the same as the maximum Federal Pell Grant for the academic year, adjusted for the student’s enrollment status and cost of attendance. All other federal student aid will be offered based on the student’s calculated EFC.