Grants for Education

Education grants are appealing to many people because they do not have to be paid back.  There are seven main Federal Education Grants you can qualify for and we will go into detail about each one on separate pages.

Education Grants – General Information

In addition to Federal college grant money there are private grants for college you can also get. Private money varies from school to school and organization to organization. We have a list of private grant money you can get on this site also.

Education grants are all need-based and available via the government (federal and state levels) and private grants (corporation and university levels).  We recommend for everyone to apply for every grant and scholarship they qualify for but the first place to start is by filling out the FAFSA form. The FAFSA is used for both Federal Education Grant qualification and also Federal Student Loan qualification.

Federal Education Grants

Since Federal Grants (aka government grants) are the largest source of education money you can get at $63.7 billion this year in grants alone, we will focus on that. For a full list of the available education grants you can click here for all the details.  Our grant news section also reports on education grants as they become available but if you wat information on how and where to apply then the news section is not the place to do it. Applications for college grants can be found here.

Government Education Grants (Federal and State)

The best place to apply for legitimate education grants is the official FAFSA website. They have three main sections to read and apply:

Step 1: Check out everything you need to get organized before applying. Their site walks you through the exact steps making it very easy.

Step 2: Filing out the FAFSA.

Step 3: Following up with FAFSA to get your money.

The most common and popular education grant is the Federal Pell Grant. The Pell Grant awards up to $5,550 for the 2010-2011 school year and you can read more about it by clicking the Pell Grant link.

Other grants you’ll want to check out and apply for are the TEACH Grant, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), National Science and Math Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART Grant), Institutional Grants (aka merit awards and scholarships) and lastly military grants.

Free Education Grants or Loans?

The biggest advantage to getting an education grant over a student loan is that you never have to pay a grant back. If you attend a public university there is a good chance you can get the majority of your college paid for via free education grants. However if you attend a private university, most likely you will have to combine several grants, scholarships, student loans and maybe even work a part time job or have your parents help you pay for school.

The average private university costs around $20,000 per year while the average public college is closer to $10,000.

Most Popular Education Grant

The most popular education grant is the Federal Pell Grant. With over 5,400 colleges accredited to allow their students to receive the Pell Grant, it is well worth applying for it. A student can receive up to $5,550 per school year under the Pell Education Grant.

You might be thinking “how does the government establish how much aid someone really needs?”

This is actually a simple question to answer – the Department of Education and Congress created a standard formula to evaluate a student’s answers to FAFSA questions and assign a score to each student. The amount of federal aid one gets is then based on this formula (EFC), up to $5,550 per school year.

Other Available Grants for Education

Besides the Pell Grant there is also the following available:

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) – $4,000 per year.

The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) – $750 for freshmen and $1,300 awarded to sophomores.

SMART Grant – (The National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant) – $4,000 to both Juniors and Seniors each year.

Institutional Grants – These are grants that each individual university offer. They are different at each school.

TEACH Grant – $4,000 per year to students who are interested in pursuing a career as a teacher.