National SMART Grant

The following information outlines the SMART Grant student eligibility criteria that is effective with the 2009-10 Award Year.

Otherwise eligible students who have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours, but fewer than 90 semester hours are considered to be in their third year of undergraduate study and may receive up to the maximum $4,000 National SMART Grant Scheduled Award.

Otherwise eligible students who have earned a minimum of 90 semester hours, but fewer than 120 semester hours or the number of hours required for their eligible degree program are considered to be in their fourth year of undergraduate study and may receive up to the maximum $4,000 National SMART Grant Scheduled Award.

All hours earned at UGA and transfer credit hours accepted by the university (including AP, IB and Joint/Dual Enrollment) are counted in determining the total hours earned and in calculating the overall grade point average.

To be otherwise eligible, a student:

1. Must be a U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-Citizen (effective 2009-10);
2. Must be eligible for and receive a Federal Pell Grant during the award year;
3. Must major in physical, life or computer science, engineering, mathematics, technology, or a critical foreign language. The U. S. Department of Education has identified the eligible major fields of study by CIP (Classification of Instructional Program) code;
4. Must be enrolled in the third or fourth academic year of his or her program of study as defined above;
5. Must be enrolled full-time in an eligible undergraduate degree program to qualify for the maximum Scheduled Award.  Effective 2009-10, the grant is prorated for students enrolled in at least 6 hours but fewer than 12 hours;
6. Must have at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale at the end of each preceding term of enrollment in the coursework required for the student's degree/major;
7. Must be making progress in completing the eligible degree;
8. The total awarded financial aid cannot exceed the student's Cost of Attendance (COA) minus the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

Once a student has received the maximum $4,000 National SMART Grant Scheduled Award as a third year student, he or she is no longer eligible for SMART Grant as a third-year student. Once a student has received the maximum $4,000 National SMART Grant Scheduled Award as a fourth-year student, he or she is no longer eligible for the SMART Grant as a fourth-year student.

Students who have been awarded the National SMART Grant should carefully note these very detailed and unique federal statutory and regulatory requirements governing how a student’s academic year progression is determined. For this reason, additional hours the university accepts for credit and changes to previously earned grades (included repeated courses) may retroactively affect a student’s eligibility for the grant.