Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

What this actually is

A grant you do not repay, on top of Pell, for undergraduates with exceptional financial need. By statute (20 U.S.C. § 1070b-1) the award is the lesser of what your course of study requires or $4,000 per academic year, and no payment is made where the calculated amount is under $100. The thing to understand about FSEOG: the money is handed to individual SCHOOLS in a fixed pot, and the school awards it until the pot is empty. It is not an entitlement like Pell. Two students with identical need can get different answers at different schools, or at the same school in different months. File the FAFSA as early as you can — that is the entire lever you have.

Who qualifies, and what trips people up

Undergraduate with exceptional need, established by the FAFSA, at a participating school — not every school participates in the programme, so ask the financial aid office directly whether yours does. Study-abroad students may receive up to $400 above the annual maximum where costs exceed home-institution costs. The $100 floor is reduced proportionately for part-time students.