Types Of Grants And Scholarships Essay Example for Free

Types Of Grants And Scholarships Essay The Pell Grant Program basically provides need-based grants to students belonging to low-income families.   This grant is primarily for undergraduate and certain postgraduate students who do not have adequate finances and access to graduate degree programs.   The current institutions that participate in this program approximate nearly 5,400.   The grants generally cover expenses such as allowances and basic education costs. The grant amount is determined by a number of factors such as the contribution from the family (EFC), the cost of basic education, whether the student is full-time or part-time and the entire attendance during the school year.    An eligible student may not receive more than one Pell Grant from more than a single academic institution at a time.   According to the FSA handbook, direct grants may be awarded with the aid of participating schools to students who fit the financial need qualifications and who have not received their bachelor’s degrees. The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) is a relatively new program that was granted during the 2006-2007 academic year.   The main purpose of this grant is to encourage students in the United States to enroll in more challenging high school courses and also to eventually pursue college degrees.   This grant is awarded to students who are first-year undergraduate students who were able to graduate from high-school in 2006, and to second-year students who graduated in January 1, 2005 from their high school. This can be awarded to a student over and above the Pell grant award that a deserving student receives.   There is currently over US $4.5 billion that has been earmarked for this program over the next five (5) years and this will continue on until the 2010-2011 academic calendars.   In order to be qualified to receive this grant, applicants must be full-time students (unlike the Pell Grant) and must be United States citizens. Works Cited: ACG Grant Information from http://www.acggrant.com/ last accessed on March 20, 2008 Federal Pell Grant Program from http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html last accessed on March 20, 2008