By Srabon Nath
As many juniors and seniors know, college is extremely expensive. Unless you received a full scholarship from your college, chances are that you had to pay a large amount of money for each semester, dorms, textbooks, and more. This all ends up racking up to tens of thousands of dollars and sometimes even hundreds of thousands. Most aspiring students don’t have this kind of money on their hands and even if their parents do, it’s hard for the parents to just empty all their life savings for the student to go to college. And then there’s the option of taking out a student loan. This usually consists of taking out a loan and using that to pay all your expenses for college. However, this money has to be paid back in interest. If the student took out a small loan and is in a good situation after college, they are able to quickly get rid of their debt. However, students that fail to pay it back quickly have to struggle with debt on their shoulders for many years. But don’t worry, you might be eligible for a grant.
Grants are similar to loans in that the student receives money from the government, the
school, or a non-profit organization. However, unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid. But
one still needs to be eligible for grants. To find out if one is eligible for financial aid, one needs to
submit a FAFSA form. But once you are eligible there are four main types of grants you might
receive from the government. (There are other ones that are available from different
organizations, but they are not always as reliable). Federal Pell Grants are grants given to
undergraduate students who are in need of financial aid but also haven't received a bachelor’s,
graduate, or professional degree. The amount of money received can vary depending on the time,
the student’s situation, the student’s background (there are some cases where the student might
receive more if their parents died serving the country), etc. But the maximum that is available for
the 2022-2023 award year is $6,495. The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
(FSEOG) is another grant for undergraduate students. However, it might not be given in all
schools. This grant is similar to the Pell Grant. However, it is given to students with extreme
financial need and the more financial aid one requires, the more priority they have. Also, after
the funds for a certain school’s FSEOG grant are finished, no one else in that school can receive a
grant. Therefore, it is best to apply for it as early as possible. This grant can range anywhere
from $100 to $4000 based on different factors. The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant is a grant
that you can receive when you meet most of the Pell Grant eligibility with the exception of the
Expected Family Contribution and your parents died in service in Iraq or Afghanistan after the events of 9/11. The maximum amount for any 2021-22 grant is $6,124.79. Finally, the TEACH
grant program is for financially aiding students that are completing a course for the purpose of
teaching. There are many criteria that one needs to meet to receive this grant. For the TEACH
grant, the maximum amount that a student can receive is $3,772.
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