The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)

When it comes to higher education grants can be extremely beneficial in reducing the overall cost that a student must incur to obtain a quality education. The Academic Competitiveness Grant (or simply just ACG) is a federal assistance grant that is awarded to college and university students who demonstrate the greatest need for financial assistance in order to attend post-secondary institutions.

The ACG is a very new grant that was first made available for the 2006-2007 school year. It was awarded to students who were beginning college and had graduated from high school after January 1, 2006. It was also awarded to second-year college students who had graduated from high school after the first of January 2005.

This grant provides a student with $750 for their first year of school and then $1,300 for their second year. The ACG is awarded in addition to the Pell Grant. It is important to be aware before you apply for it that the two grants together are not permitted to equal more than the cost of attending school.

Eligibility Requirements for the ACG

It would be wonderful if every student qualified for the Academic Competiveness Grant but that is not the case. In order to be eligible for the ACG for every year that you attend a post-secondary institution there are certain requirements that you must satisfy. Let us look at those now.

To be eligible you must be a United States citizen or an eligible non-citizen. You must be a Federal Pell grant recipient for the same academic award year. You must be enrolled full-time or half-time in a degree program. You are required to be a first or second-year undergraduate student enrolled at a two year or four year institution that grants degrees. First-year students must not have been previously enrolled in any program of an undergraduate nature. Students who are second-year students must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the first year that they attended college or university.

In order to qualify for an Academic Competitiveness Grant the program you are taking must meet the “rigorous secondary school program of study” requirement. The rigorous secondary school programs are designated by state-authorized local education agencies (LEAs) as well as state education agencies (SEAs). These agencies are recognized by the Secretary of Education. The advanced secondary school programs as well as the honors programs are established by each state.

Applying for the ACG Academic Competitiveness Grant

If you wish to apply for the ACG then you must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online. This can be found by going to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. If you go to FAFSA on the web then you will be able to get a good idea if you would qualify for the Academic Competitiveness Grant. You can also learn more about this grant by stopping by the financial aid office at your school and speaking with someone there.

If you have already submitted a paper copy to the FAFSA and you have in turn received what is known as your Student Aid Report (SAR) then you should then be eligible to answer the necessary questions regarding the Academic Competitiveness Grant. To learn more you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4FED-AID.

Please be aware that according to the Bingham University website, the Academic Competitiveness Grant program has only been funded through the end of the 2010- 2011 school year. It is not known as of yet if it will still be available to students for the 2011-2012 school year and beyond. Take the time to find out everything you need to about this grant before you apply for it.  If you are presently receiving it then before the school year comes to an end find out what the status of it is at that time.