The U.S. Department of Education has the following major Student Financial Assistance
(SFA) Programs:
The three programs discussed in this section are called campus-based programs because
they’re administered directly by the financial aid office at each participating
school. Not all schools participate in all three programs. The Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) Program awards grants;
the Federal Work-Study Program offers jobs; and the
Federal Perkins Loans Program provides low-interest loans. Even though each
program is different, they have these characteristics in common:
- How much aid you receive depends on such factors as your
Financial Need, the amount of other aid you’ll receive, and the availability
of funds at your school. Unlike the Federal Pell Grant Program, which provides every
eligible student with funds, each school participating in any of the campus-based
programs receives a certain amount of funds each year from the federal government
for each program. When that money is gone, no more awards can be made from that
program for that year.
- Each school sets its own deadlines for students to apply for campus-based funds.
The deadlines will usually be earlier than the U.S. Department of Education’s deadline
for filing a FAFSA (for 2007- 2008, June 30, 2008). Check with the financial aid
office about the school’s deadlines. You might miss out on aid from these programs
if you don’t apply early.