The Truth About Federal Student Aid Eligibility

Federal student aid eligibility is based on certain legal, educational and financial criteria.

Legal Criteria

Students must be US citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid Social Security Number (SSN). Non-citizens from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia don't need a SSN.

Examples of eligible non citizens are US nationals, US permanent residents, refugees, asylum granted persons, and victims of human trafficking with T-visa. Some classes of parolees are also eligible.

Students between 18-25 need to comply with the Selective Service Registration (SSR) if necessary, as it is the law.

Furthermore, the online school or college must be accredited and be a participant in Federal Student Aid Programs for students to get financial aid.

If you're an international student or simply looking for alternative sources of college funding, you can check the Scholarship Experts. They are an excellent free service.

Educational Criteria

You must be educated to high school level, possessing either a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate (GED). If you don't have this, then the institution you are planning to attend can administer an ability to benefit test (ABT). This will determine if you have the minimum education necessary to benefit from the curricula being offered at that school.

You need to be attending or accepted for enrollment at an online college or school where you will be working towards an eligible certificate or degree program. The school must be a participant in federal student aid programs.

Whether you continue to get funding during your studies is partially dependent on maintaining a certain degree of academic performance as determined by the school.

Financial Criteria

Generally, you must demonstrate that you need financial aid in order to attend college, but this isn't required for unsubsidized Stafford loans nor Plus loans.

Financial need is assessed according to your expected family contribution (EFC), which is a measure of you and your family's financial strength. This indicates how much you and your family is able to contribute to your education expenses.

The amount of Federal financial aid you'll get is that which remains after your EFC and any Federal grants and other financial aid you received are subtracted from your education expenses.

You also must not have received an overpayment on previous Federal aid, defaulted on a Federal loan nor owe money on a Federal grant. Although grants normally don't have to be repaid, if for example you withdraw from your course without completion, it needs to be repaid.

Check out FAFSA to get more details on Federal student aid eligibility.

*** Mega Tip ***

For those of who have not met all the Federal student aid eligibility criteria or if you're simply looking for other sources of college funding, the Scholarship Experts may be your answer.

Get more than Federal Student Aid Eligibility From The Homepage