Student Eligibility

To receive Aid from any of the federal student aid programs discussed in this publication, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate financial need, except for some loan programs.
• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate, pass a test approved by the U.S. Department of Education, meet other standards your state establishes that are approved by the U.S. Department of Education, or complete a high school education in a home school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under state law. See your financial aid administrator for more information.
• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program. (You may not receive aid for correspondence or telecommunications courses unless they are part of an associate, bachelor’s, or graduate degree program.)
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• Have a valid Social Security Number (unless you’re from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau). If you need a Social Security Number, you can find out more about applying for one through the Internet at www.ssa.gov.
• Meet satisfactory academic progress standards set by the postsecondary school you are or will be attending.
• Certify that you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes.
• Certify that you are not in default on a federal student loan and that you do not owe money on a federal student grant.
• Comply with the Selective Service registration, if required. If you’re a male aged 18 through 25, and you haven’t yet registered, you can give the Selective Service permission to register you by checking a box on the FAFSA. You can also register through the Internet at www.sss.gov.

The law suspends aid eligibility for students convicted under federal or state law of sale or possession of illegal drugs. The period of ineligibility varies and depends on whether the conviction was for sale or possession, and whether the student had previous offenses. The student regains eligibility when the period of suspension ends, or in some cases, only when the student completes an acceptable drug rehabilitation program. If you have a conviction or convictions for these offenses, call 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243) to find out how, or if, this law applies to you. Even if you’re ineligible for federal aid, you should complete the FAFSA and answer Question 35 because schools use this information in awarding nonfederal aid. If you leave Question 35 of the FAFSA blank, you will automatically become ineligible for federal student aid.

Incarcerated persons have limited eligibility for federal student aid. An incarcerated person is eligible for a Pell Grant only if he or she is incarcerated in a nonfederal or nonstate penal institution, such as a local or county jail.

When you apply for aid from the FSA programs, the U. S. Department of Education verifies some of your information with the following federal agencies:

• Social Security Administration (for verification of Social Security Numbers and U.S. citizenship status)
• Selective Service System (for verification of Selective Service registration status, if applicable)
• U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (for verification of eligible noncitizen status, if applicable)
• U.S. Department of Justice (for verification that an applicant has not been denied federal student aid by the courts as the result of a drug-related conviction)
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (for verification of veteran status, if applicable)