eligibility and need
Meeting the Criteria
See if you’re eligible for financial aid by reviewing the requirements below. And find out how aid is awarded through a formula based on financial need and educational costs.
On this page
Student eligibility
To receive aid from any of the major federal student aid programs, you must meet all of the following criteria:
- Demonstrate financial need, except for some loan programs.
- Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate; pass a test approved by the U.S. Department of Education; meet other standards established by your state that are approved by the U.S. Department of Education; or complete a high school education in a home school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under state law. See your financial aid administrator for more information.
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program. (You may not receive aid for correspondence or telecommunications courses unless they are part of an associate, bachelor's, or graduate degree program.)
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
- Have a valid Social Security Number.
- Make satisfactory academic progress set by the postsecondary school you are, or will be, attending.
- Certify that you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes.
- Certify that you are not in default on a federal student loan and that you do not owe money on a federal student grant.
- Register with the Selective Service, if required.
Financial need
For most of the major programs discussed here—minus unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS loans—aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
Here’s how it works:
1. When you apply for federal student aid, the information you report on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
2. The EFC determines your eligibility for federal student aid. The EFC formula, established by law, and is used to measure your family’s financial strength on the basis of your family’s income and assets.
3. If your EFC is below a certain amount and you meet all other eligibility requirements, you’re eligible for a federal Pell Grant. There isn’t a maximum EFC that defines eligibility for the other financial aid programs. Instead, your EFC is used in a specific equation to determine your financial need:
Cost of Attendance
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
--------------------------------------------------------------
= Financial Need
4. The government assigns you a financial aid administrator (FAA), who calculates your cost of attendance (COA), and subtracts the amount you and your family are expected to contribute toward that cost. If there’s anything left over, you’re considered to have financial need. In determining your need for aid from the student financial aid programs, your FAA must first consider other aid you’re expected to receive.
Your FAA can adjust the EFC formula’s data elements or adjust your COA if they believe your family’s financial circumstances warrant it, based on the documentation you provide. However, the FAA does not have to make such an adjustment.
To see how the EFC is calculated, visit the Federal Student Aid site to download EFC worksheets or write to:
Federal Student Aid Information Center
P.O. Box 84
Washington, DC 20044
(800) 4-FED-AID [(800) 433-3243]
studentaid.ed.gov
Information current as excerpted from the 2002-2003 Student Guide, prepared by the U.S. Department of Education, and may change per government regulations.
