Academic
Competitiveness Grants (ACG) and SMART Grants are being funded
by the federal government. The Academic Competitiveness Grant
is to encourage high school students to take a rigorous curriculum.
SMART Grants encourage college students to major in math,
sciences, and certain critical foreign languages.
Students
do not have to do anything beyond applying for federal aid
and completing their financial aid files to receive one of
these grants. If a student meets the criteria, then the award
will be added to the student's financial aid package. No additional
application is needed. The following are some basic requirements
of the program.
Academic
Competitiveness Grants (ACG)
Overall
requirements/facts:
•
Must meet the university's Satisfactory
Academic Progress requirements.
•
Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be eligible for and receive the Pell Grant
• Must be degree-seeking
• Must be enrolled full time
• Must have completed a rigorous secondary school curriculum, as evidenced by a final high school transcript.
-Recipients of the Florida Academic and Medallion Scholars
Awards have met this requirement.
• Not available beyond the second academic year of an
undergraduate program.
First
year award requirements/facts:
• Must meet
all of the overall requirements
• Must not have completed the secondary school degree
prior to Jan. 1, 2006
• Award amount is $750 lifetime total while the student meets
requirements to be considered as first year. This means until
the student has earned 30 hours.
Second
year award requirements/facts:
• Must meet
all of the overall requirements
•
Must have a 3.0 GPA for all previous work as a first year level student.
• Award amount is $1300 lifetime total while the student meets
requirements to be considered as second year. This means until
the student has earned 60 hours.
SMART
Grants
Overall requirements/facts:
•
Must meet the university's Satisfactory
Academic Progress requirements.
•
Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be eligible for and receive the Pell Grant
• Must be degree-seeking
• Must be enrolled full time
• Must major in a physical, life, or computer science;
in engineering; in math; in technology; or in a critical foreign
language
• Must be in the third (60-89 hours) or fourth (90-120
hours) academic year of a qualifying undergraduate program
• May only receive one award at each academic level
• Must have a 3.0 GPA prior to each disbursement (This
is unlike the second year ACG which requires only annual GPA
monitoring.)
• The lifetime award is $4000 for each academic level
Third
year requirements/facts: The third year student is
defined as having earned between 60 and 89 overall hours.
Students are eligible for no more than two full semesters
of a third year SMART grant.
Fourth
year requirements/facts: The fourth year student
is defined as having earned 90 or more overall hours. This
is a broader definition than the third year definition, but
a given student can receive only one fourth year award in
an academic lifetime.
