Financial Aid

Grants - Federal, State, & University

Only undergraduate students are eligible for consideration for the following university and federal grants.   Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as defined in the University Announcements and under the Policies and Procedure section of the Financial Aid Web site.

Federal Pell Grant Program

The Federal Pell Grant is a federal need-based grant program awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need. You apply for it automatically by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The amount you receive is based on your EFC and the number of credit hours for which you are enrolled each term. If either of the above conditions change, your grant will be adjusted. You must reapply each year to reestablish your eligibility. The maximum award amount varies annually according to an appropriation from Congress.  Students must file a FAFSA each year to establish their continued eligibility for need-based financial assistance.  Full-time award amounts will be prorated for partial enrollment.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

This institutionally administered federal need-based grant is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need. You apply for it automatically by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements to first receive a Federal Pell Grant before being considered for a SEOG Grant.  Additionally, awards are based on the time of application and the availability of funds.  Students must file a FAFSA each year to establish their continued eligibility for need-based financial assistance.  To be given priority consideration for the grant, students must meet the application deadline. May be replaced by endowed scholarship funds.

Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (AC Grant)

You may receive an AC Grant of up to $750 for your first academic year of study and up to $1,300 for your second academic year of study.  To receive the AC Grant a student must meet all of the following qualifications:

• meet the eligibility requirements to receive a Federal Pell Grant during the same award year;
• be a U.S. Citizen;
• be a first- or second-year full-time undergraduate student in a degree program;
• have completed a rigorous high school program of study and
• be a first year student (0-29 earned credits) who has not taken any college courses after high school graduation;
• be a second-year student (30-59 earned credits), with a cumulative CUA GPA of at least 3.0 (if you are a second-year student with transfer credits, you must have at least a 3.00 GPA for the credits accepted for transfer).

This federal grant is for first-year students who graduated from high school after January 1 the year before entering college and second year students who graduated from high school after January 1 two years preceding the year before entering college.

If you are a new freshman, your aid offer may include an AC Grant if it appears that you will meet all of the eligibility requirements for the grant. If you are a continuing student who received an AC Grant for your freshman year, your eligibility for a second year AC Grant will be determined during the following fall term. As with all other forms of aid, if at any time you are found not to meet all requirements, the grant will be withdrawn.

Federal National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant

This federal grant is for students in the third and fourth year of a bachelor’s program who are pursuing college majors in high demand in the global economy. (Fifth-year undergraduate students and second bachelor’s degree students are not eligible).  You may receive a SMART Grant of up to $4,000 if you meet all of the following qualifications:

• meet the eligibility requirements to receive a Federal Pell Grant during the same award year;
• be a U.S. citizen;
• be enrolled full-time (minimum 12 credit hours) in the third (60-89 earned credit hours) or fourth (90-120 earned credit hours) academic year of an undergraduate degree program;
• have a cumulative CUA GPA of at least 3.00 as of the beginning of each payment period (e.g. semester) in the coursework required for your major;
• be pursuing a major in physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, engineering or a critical foreign language as described in the "Grants" section at www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov.

Eligible students will be notified of their SMART Grants during the fall term.  Receiving a SMART Grant may result in a change to another part of your financial aid offer.  As with all other forms of aid, if at any time you are found not to meet all requirements, the grant will be withdrawn.

CUA Need-Based Grant

The CUA Need-Based Grant is awarded to undergraduate students based on demonstrated significant financial need. The grant is designed to assist students in meeting a portion of their unmet need. The amount you receive is based on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)* and your remaining need after all other sources of aid are considered. If any of the above conditions change, your grant may be reduced. This award is not subject to future increases. You must reapply each year by filling a FAFSA to reestablish eligibility. Funding for this program is limited, so offers are made annually on a first-come, funds-available basis. This award is renewable up to eight semesters or until you complete your current degree program, whichever comes first. Transfer students' length of eligibility is prorated based on the number of credits hours accepted by their academic departments. You must maintain continuous full-time enrollment status (a minimum of 12 credit hours) in a degree program and must be registered by the end of the add/drop period (as published in the University Announcements and Schedule of Course Booklet) each semester. This award can be applied only to tuition charges billed by Catholic University during the academic year (i.e. during the fall and spring semesters).  In the future, a portion or all of your CUA Need-Based Grant may be funded through one of our donor-sponsored scholarship funds. Changes to the source of funding for your CUA Need-Based Grant may be made at any time during the year.

CUA Family Grant

If two or more dependent children of the same family are concurrently registered as full-time students (attempting a minimum of 12 credit hours) at The Catholic University of America, pursuing their first undergraduate degrees, the older sibling is eligible for a Family Grant of $2,000 per year. The Family Grant is only offered in the fall and spring semesters, no summer awards are available. No student will be considered eligible for the Family Grant because he or she is married to a student or because of concurrent enrollment of a parent. Family Grants are partially credited after the close of the add/drop period each semester and full-time enrollment is verified. Student must resubmit the Family Grant Application each year. The Family Grant Application available on the Office of Financial Aid's Forms page must be submitted before or during the semester in which the award is to be credited. Retroactive requests for a Family Grant will not be considered.