Academic Competitive Grant (ACG)

An eligible student may receive an Academic Competitiveness Grant up to $750 fro the first academic year of study and up to $1,300 for the second academic year of study. This grant is in addition to the student's Federal Pell Grant.

Application Form
Completion of the FAFSA

Residency and Citizenship
Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

Award Amounts
An eligible student may receive an Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) of up to:
$750 for the first academic year of study
$1,300 for the second academic year of study

A student may not receive more than one ACG or National SMART Grant award in each academic year for which the student is eligible.
The amount of the grant, in combination with the Federal Pell Grant, other resources and estimated financial assistance, may not exceed financial need (cost of attendance minus EFC equals financial need).

Qualifying Requirements

Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
Must be a Federal Pell Grant recipient for the same period
Be enrolled full-time or half-time in a degree program
Be enrolled in the first or second year of your program of study at a two-year or four-year degree-granting institution (such as CUNY)
Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study and graduated after January 1, 2005
If a first-year student, not have been previously enrolled in an undergraduate program; and
If a second-year student, have at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale for the first academic year
No enrollment in a specific major is required

Options for Rigorous Program

A student qualifies based on the state in which the student completed the rigorous program of study. The 3 rigorous program options for eligibility for a student from New York are:
1. The New York Regents Diploma with Honors or Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation
or
2. Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses and test scores This program requires a minimum of two Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in high school and a minimum passing score on the exams for those classes. Students must score 3 or higher on AP exams and 4 or higher on IB exams.
or
3. Taking the following prescribed set of courses and receiving a passing grade:

4 years of English

3 years of Math (Algebra I and a higher level course such as Algebra II, Geometry or Data Analysis and Statistics)

3 years of science (Including at least 2 courses from Biology, Chemistry or Physics)

3 years of social studies

1 year of a foreign language

Applicant Self-Identification Process

The electronic FAFSA process provides potential ACG recipients with a method to self identify if he/she feels they may have completed or feel they will complete the rigorous secondary course work requirement of the state in which they graduated secondary school.
Paper filers: Potential ACG recipients will receive a comment on their Student Aid Report (SAR) directing them to the web site and a toll-free number.
Department of Education will send student responses to the institution listed on the student record.
Institutions are responsible for determining the eligibility of students who the Department of Education reported as having self-identified eligibility.
The grant is not confirmed until eligibility is verified by the institution of higher education.

Documenting Rigorous Program

If the student did not self identify the institutions have the option to identify eligible students based on records they have (e.g. high school transcripts).
Further information could be obtained from the website: Federal Student Aid.