Office of Financial Aid

Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant

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The Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 created a new financial aid program that is available to eligible SCCC students. The Academic Competitiveness Grant could provide up to $750 for eligible students in their first academic year and up to $1,300 for the second year of study. Students must be eligible for a Federal Pell grant.

Academic Competitiveness Grant Eligibility Criteria:

• Be a U.S. citizen;
• Be a Federal Pell Grant recipient
• Be enrolled full time in a degree program;
• Be enrolled in the first or second academic year of his or her program of study
• Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study (after January 1, 2006, if a first year student, and after January 1, 2005, if a second year student);
• If a first year student, not have been previously enrolled in an undergraduate program; and
• If a second year student, have at least a 3.0 grade point average for the first academic year.

What is a Rigorous Secondary School Program?

The U.S. Department of Education and the State Education Department have clarified the definition of what is a rigorous secondary school program. New York State students who receive a Regents diploma with honors or a Regents diploma with advanced designation would satisfy the requirement.

Students who do not have a regents diploma with honors or with advanced designation, may have other options to meet the requirement for a rigorous secondary school program based on the specific courses taken in high school. It is also possible for students to use one of the following two options to satisfy the requirement:

1. A required set of courses with passing grades including four years of English, three years of Math (including Algebra I and a higher level math course such as Algebra II, Geometry, or Data Analysis and Statistics), three years of science (including at least two courses from biology, chemistry or physics), three years of social studies, and one year of a foreign language.


2. Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses and test scores. Students may be eligible if they have a minimum of two Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in high school with a minimum passing score of 3 or higher on AP and 4 or higher on IB exams.