Grants
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Most grants are need-based, which means they are usually given based on you or your family’s financial circumstances. Need-based aid is financial aid that you can receive if you have financial need and meet other eligibility criteria. You can’t receive more need-based aid than the amount of your financial need.
For more information about whether your school provides need-based aid, please contact your financial aid office.
Federal Grants
Federal Pell Grants are given to undergraduate students who have not yet earned a bachelor's or professional degree. Pell Grants are awarded based on financial need as demonstrated in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Pell is a federal grant, not a loan, and does not need to be paid back. The maximum amount for a Pell Grant in an academic year changes every year.
The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited to the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.
In some cases, students may be eligible to receive up to 150% of their Scheduled Award. This is called Year-Round Pell, or additional Pell. It’s called “Year Round” because it allows students to receive additional Pell funds, often in summer terms.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need—those with the lowest Expected Family Contribution (EFC) numbers as determined on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)—who have not yet earned a baccalaureate degree. SEOG is a federal grant and does not have to be repaid.
New York State Grants
Legal residents of New York State who are enrolled in a full-time degree program of at least 12 points a term, or the equivalent, may be eligible for awards under the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). The amount of the award depends on program, family income, financial status (dependent or independent) and number of family members enrolled in college.
The Aid for Part-Time Study (APTS) program provides grant assistance for eligible part-time students enrolled in approved undergraduate studies.
New York State offers education and family benefits to Veterans. If you are a New York State resident and plan to attend a college or university in New York, you may be eligible.
New York State offers other scholarships, grants and awards to eligible students by completing a separate application. You may apply for anyone of them on New York State's Grants, Scholarships and Loan Programs page.
- Columbia College
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- Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
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- School of General Studies
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- Graduate Student Veterans Benefits
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