The following information on the Federal Grant Programs is meant to give you a brief overview of the programs available at the School of Mines. Detailed information is available from the U.S. Department of Education publication Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid.
To be considered for the Federal Grant Programs, students must file a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Renewal FAFSA each year. You must be a degree-seeking student at the School of Mines in order to be awarded aid of any type. These programs are available to undergraduate students only.
Pell Grant: Available only to undergraduate students. Your Pell Grant award is based on the Expected Family Contribution listed on your Student Aid Report and full-time attendance. However, the actual amount that will be applied to your account will be based on your enrollment status as of the final add/drop date each semester. If you are not enrolled in at least 12 credit hours as of the final add/drop date, an adjustment will be made to the amount of Pell Grant funds applied to your account. As a result, you could have an unpaid balance due on your account. Students enrolled less than half time may be eligible.
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG): Available only to undergraduate students. This is a limited funded Federal program with awarding priority given to Pell Grant recipients who show financial need through the FAFSA and have filed their FAFSA on January 1 (prior to the fall semester the student will be attending Mines) and thereafter until funds are exhausted for the award year. Recipients must be attending at least half-time in order to actually receive the funds awarded. In an effort to make this program available to as many students as possible, the maximum award at SDSM&T is generally $500.
Academic Competiveness Grant (ACG) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant programs are available only to U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens who are eligible for the Pell Grant program, will be attending at least half time (payment is pro-rated for enrollment less than full time) and have maintained no less than a 3.00 Cumulative GPA (CGPA). Please check the eligibility requirements as established by the U.S. Department of Education.
Both ACG and SMART programs are two years in length depending on the number of completed credit hours. Progression from one year to the next is based on completing 32 or more credit hours per academic year. Once an ACG eligible student reaches 64 or more completed credit hours, they are no longer eligible for that program, regardless of how many years they have received funding. Although for ACG the 3.00 Cumulative GPA requirement is not checked until the end of the year, eligibility for 1st or 2nd year funding is determined at the end of each semester. The SMART Grant program is available only to students in eligible engineering, math and science degree programs (listed below) who have completed 64 or more credit hours, but less than 128 for science and 136 for engineering degree programs. Progression from one year of SMART Grant to the next is also based on completing 32 credit hours per academic year. Once a student reaches 128 credit hours for science and 136 for engineering degree programs, they are no longer eligible for the SMART program, regardless of how many semesters they may have received funding. Continuing eligibility for SMART is determined at the end of each semester. Unless action is taken by Congress to the contrary, both the ACG and SMART programs are scheduled to terminate the end of the 2010-2011 school year.
Students who meet the above criteria and are enrolled in the following four year undergraduate degree programs at the School of Mines are eligible for SMART: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geological Engineering, Geology, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics (Applied and Computational), Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Mining Engineering & Management and Physics.
Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP, formerly known as the State Student Incentive Grant Program): This program is awarded by the Financial Aid Office to undergraduate SD residents who are enrolled full time, file a new FAFSA each year, are Pell Grant eligible, have a high school diploma or recognized equivalent (GED) and fully meet the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements (students on Financial Aid Probation and Suspension will not be considered for this program). Awards range from $100 to $500. Students determined eligible are notified by the Financial Aid Office via their original or revised award letter.
