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The enactment of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005
(HERA) among other things created the National Science and
Mathematics Access To Retain Talent Grant (SMART) effective with
the 2006-07 Award Year. The U.S. Department of Education
recently published interim implementing regulations and we have
begun identifying and awarding the National SMART Grant to
qualifying students.
Otherwise eligible students may receive a National SMART
Grant of $4,000 for each of their third and fourth academic
years of undergraduate study. Students who have earned a minimum
of 60 semester hours, but fewer than 90 semester hours are
defined as being in their third year of undergraduate study.
Students who have earned a minimum of 90 semester hours, but
fewer than 120 semester hours are defined as being in their
fourth year of undergraduate study.
To be eligible, a student:
- Must be
a U.S. Citizen (students classified as Permanent Residents
or any other non-citizen status are not eligible);
- Must
receive a
Federal Pell Grant during the same semester;
- Must be
enrolled full-time in a degree program;
- Must be
enrolled in the third or fourth academic year of his or her
program of study;
- Must
major in biology, chemistry, math, computer science, or
environmental science. The
U. S. Department of Education has identified the eligible
major fields of study by CIP (Classification Instructional
Program) code;
- 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 major.
- 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 $4,000 in National SMART Grant as
a third year student, he/she is not eligible for additional
SMART Grant funds as a third-year student, even if the student
has earned fewer than 90 semester hours. Once a student has
received $4,000 in National SMART Grant as a fourth-year
student, he/she is not eligible for additional SMART Grant funds
as a fourth-year student, even if the student has earned fewer
than 120 hours. |
