What is a grant?
A grant is gift money; money you do not have to repay. It differs from a scholarship in that a grant is based purely on your financial need.

How do I apply for a grant?
You are automatically applying for both the federal and state grant programs when you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

What types of grants are available?
There are both federal grants and state grants. The federal grants include the Pell Grant and the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG). Minnesota also has a grant program called the Minnesota State Grant. You can access information about these grant programs at http://www.lsc.edu/financialaid/grants.cfm

Who qualifies for a grant?
In order to be considered for a grant, you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and must be in an eligible program of study. You must not have already have a bachelors degree and cannot be in default on a student loan or owe a refund to a financial aid program. Typically, the lower your student family income is, the greater the possibility of receiving grant funding. However, regardless of your family income, you should still complete the FAFSA as it will determine your eligibility for all types of financial aid, including grants, loans and Work Study. If you would like to get an estimate prior to completing your FAFSA, you may do so at http://www.getreadyforcollege.org/estimator/firstQuestions.cfm. Please realize it is only an estimate, but will give you a good idea of what you could expect to receive in grant funding based on the Minnesota college you plan to attend.

How do you qualify for a Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)?
An FSEOG grant is a form of campus-based aid. That means that each campus receives a limited amount of funds per year to award its students. By law, we must award FSEOG to students with the lowest Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Therefore, only students with a "0" EFC are eligible for this special grant. As we have limited funds, the grant is awarded on a first come-first served basis; those who complete their FAFSAs early are more likely to receive this grant.

How many credits do I have to have per term to receive a grant?
That varies. Some students with lower Expected Family Contributions qualify for a Pell Grant for as low as one credit per term and for the Minnesota Grant for as low as three credits per term. Your award letter will specify how many credits you need to have per term to receive grant funding. Students who qualify for the FSEOG grant must be enrolled for a minimum of six credits per term.

How and when do I receive my grant funding?
You must receive an award letter specifying that you qualify for grant funding. If you qualify, you can expect your grants to be placed on your account after the five-day drop-add period each term or the Tuesday after the date on your award letter, whichever is later. The grants will be applied to your account to pay any costs that you owe the college for the term. If there are excess funds, you should receive a check at your permanent address within the next seven to ten days.

I qualified for grants last year, but now I don't qualify or don't qualify for as much. Why?
Many things influence the amount of grant funding you receive from year to year. Besides changes in government laws regarding eligibility, changes in your family income, family size and number in college all have an effect. We suggest that you compare last year's FAFSA to this year's FAFSA and identify what has changed. If there seems to be no change in the family size and number in college and no significant change in the family income, you may want to contact us at enroll@lsc.mnscu.edu and ask us to take a closer look at your information.

Last year I received both the Pell grant and the Minnesota State grant. This year I qualify for the Pell grant, but I no longer qualify for the Minnesota State grant. No income has changed on the FAFSA. Why the difference?
A student can only receive a Minnesota Grant if they have not attended the equivalent of four years of full time college attendance. Part of our responsibility is to evaluate the transcripts of every college you have ever attended and track this for your Minnesota State grant eligibility. You have probably run out of eligibility If you feel that this is not the reason, contact us at enroll@lsc.edu and ask us to take a closer look at your information.

I received grants at another college but because I withdrew, I now have to repay part of the grant. Can I still get grants at your college?
You cannot receive either federal grants or loans if you owe a repayment to a federal grant program. The Department of Education monitors that for us and notifies us when you owe a repayment. You will want to contact the college involved and make the repayment as quickly as possible. Once you have done so, you may provide us with a letter from the college verifying that it has been paid in full and we can offer you grant funding at our college.

I have defaulted on a student loan. Can I still receive grants if I attend your college?
If you have defaulted on a student loan, you cannot receive any type of financial aid until you have either paid off the default or made satisfactory arrangements to repay the loan. This usually means making six consecutive monthly payments toward the defaulted loan. Once you have made satisfactory arrangements, you must provide us with a written statement from the Department of Education or collection agency stating that "satisfactory arrangements have been made and the student is eligible to receive Title IV funding."