Federal Grants

The information below is for the current 2023-2024 academic year.  Federal Student Aid has announced a number of changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the requirements, processing, and eligibility for financial aid for the 2024-2025 academic year due to the FAFSA Simplification Act.  As more details are provided by Federal Student Aid, we will update this page.

To apply for a Federal Pell Grant, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Grant amounts are dependent on your expected family contribution (EFC). The maximum Pell Grant award for the 2023-2024 award year is $7,395, and the corresponding maximum Pell Grant eligible expected family contribution (EFC) is 6656. Federal Pell Grants are restricted to students pursuing their first undergraduate degree. You may not receive Federal Pell Grant payments concurrently from more than one institution, even if enrolled part-time at each institution.  

Beginning in 2017-2018, students enrolled at least half-time may receive 150% of their Pell award each aid year. For example, a student with a zero (0) Estimated Family Contribution would qualify for a maximum Pell award of $6,895. A full-time student would receive $3,448 or 50% of Pell award for fall 2022, $3,447 for spring 2023, and if enrolled at least half-time in summer 2023 would be eligible for additional Pell Grant award for summer ($3,447) if enrolled full-time in the summer, a prorated amount if enrolled between 6-11 units).  

Federal regulations restrict lifetime eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant to 12 semesters (or 600% Lifetime Eligibility Used or LEU) from the prior maximum of 18 semesters. When you’re awarded a Pell Grant, you are given an annual Pell Grant award. If you attend full-time for a semester, you use 50% of your annual Pell Grant award.

For example:

Each semester you receive a Pell Grant adds to your total LEU. When your total reaches 600%, you’re no longer eligible for the grant. This total includes all Pell Grant awards received at all institutions attended – and it is retroactive. You may receive Pell Grant funds from only one school at a time. You cannot appeal this federal regulation or request an extension.

To read more about the LEU and how it’s calculated, including examples, click on the link below from the U.S. Department of Education: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell/calculate-eligibility.

Visit the NSLDS web site to determine the percentage of Pell grant you have received: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing. Your LEU will be found on the “My Aid” page.

A student who believes there may be an inaccuracy in the underlying Pell Grant data that is part of the student’s Pell Grant LEU calculation may dispute that information by contacting his or her current school. The student must have filed a FAFSA for the current award year so as to ensure that the current school can view the student’s Pell history.

In order to file a dispute, a student must provide all documentation to the current school in support of the student’s assertion that there is an inaccuracy in the Pell Grant data. This documentation must include a signed and dated statement from the student that provides:

• The name of the student’s current school to whom the student reported the alleged inaccurate data;
• The name of the school that reported the alleged inaccurate information;
• The award year and disputed amount; and
• The reason the student believes the Pell Grant data are inaccurate.

The current school will provide the student with a response once the case has been investigated.

Pell Recalculation Policy

The Pell Recalculation Policy only applies to Undergraduate students eligible to receive the Federal Pell Grant.

Undergraduate students eligible for the Federal Pell Grant who make enrollment changes during the semester may be subject to Pell Recalculation which requires an adjustment to the Federal Pell Grant based on the change in the student's enrollment.

Changes to Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) and the Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship in 2024-25

Effective with the 2024-25 award year, as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, the Special Rule for Pell Grants replaces the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) and the Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship with new or modified eligibility criteria for a student who is less than 33 years old as of the first January 1 of the FAFSA award year and whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty while:

1. Serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001 (i.e., IASG); or
2. Actively serving as and performing the duties of a public safety officer (i.e., CFH).

Instead of an IASG or a CFH award, eligible students will receive a maximum Pell Grant regardless of their SAI (adjusted for enrollment intensity as needed).”

Last updated October 3, 2023

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) is a federal, need-based grant awarded to undergraduate students who have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree. Priority is given to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need and who have been awarded the Federal Pell Grant.

FSEOG funds are limited and funds may not be available for applicants who do not meet LMU’s priority funding deadlines.

The amount that FSEOG eligible students may receive will be between $500 and $1,000 based on financial need and the available funding at LMU.

Annual renewal of the Federal Supplemental Grant is not automatic. Students must apply for federal financial aid each year and meet all federal specified requirements. Awards depend on available funding at LMU. This grant is not available for enrollment beyond eight semesters or for enrollment in a second Bachelor's degree program.

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Grant

What is the BIA Grant?

BIA grants are tribal awards provided to students who are at least one-quarter American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut. You can review additional information at Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Contact your tribal agency for pertinent information. Each Tribal Agency can establish their own award parameters

Federal TEACH Grant

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides grants to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. To be considered for a Federal TEACH Grant, students must initiate the process of completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), an Agreement to Serve (ATS), and TEACH Grant Counseling. Recipients of a TEACH Grant must agree to the following:

• Serve as a full-time highly qualified teacher at a school serving low income students in a high-need field.
• Serve for at least four academic years within eight years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.
• Provide the Department of Education with annual documentation of your progress toward completion of your service obligation.

The Department’s TEACH Grant Servicer oversees your grant account until you meet your service obligation. Annual documentation of your teaching progress must be submitted each year. Failure to submit proper documentation will result in the conversion of all your TEACH Grants into Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans with capitalized interest from the first date of disbursement. Finally, if you receive a TEACH Grant but do not complete the required four years of teaching service within eight years after you complete (or otherwise cease to be enrolled in) the program for which you received the grant, all TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan that you must repay with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.

Schools and educational service agencies that serve low-income students

Elementary and secondary schools (public and private) and educational service agencies serving low-income students are listed in the annual Teacher Cancellation Low-Income Directory. In addition, elementary or secondary schools operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), or operated on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract or grant with the BIE qualify as low-income schools.

High-Need Fields

High-Need Fields are

• Bilingual education and English language acquisition,
• Foreign language,
• Mathematics,
• Reading specialist,
• Science, and
• Special education , as well as
• Any other field that has been identified as high-need by the federal government, a state government, or a local education agency, and that is included in the annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing (Nationwide list).

If you plan to teach in a high-need field that is included on the Nationwide List, that field must be listed for the state where you teach either at the time you begin your qualifying teaching service or at the time you received a TEACH Grant.

TEACH Grant Award Amount

Below are the maximum eligible TEACH Grant amounts based on enrollment:

For any TEACH Grant first disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2024, the maximum award of $4,000 is reduced by 5.7 percent ($228), resulting in a maximum award of $3,772.

Federal Sequestration-Required Reduction

Beginning in the 2013-2014 award year, the federal government requires all TEACH grant awards to be reduced by a percentage of the maximum student eligibility. Percentage reductions are calculated by the Federal Office of Budget and Management (OMB) and is distributed institutions to implement every award year.

LMU TEACH Grant Awarding Policy

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
2. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
3. Complete the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent Counseling session electronically.
4. Complete the U.S. Department of Education Federal Agreement to Serve (ATS) electronically.
5. Have and maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA.
6. Undergraduate students must have formally declared a minor in the School of Education in Elementary, Secondary, Bilingual or Special Education. Students are allowed to declare a minor after achieving junior standing therefore LMU does not award the TEACH Grant to first-year or sophomore level students. Students interested in a career in teaching should visit the School of Education, Center for Undergraduate Teaching Preparation.

Students who are graduating, cease to receive a TEACH Grant in a following academic year, or are enrolled less than half time must complete TEACH Grant exit counseling at studentaid.gov.

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)

The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant provides money to undergraduate students to help pay for their educational expenses and has special eligibility criteria. The maximum award of the IASG is equal to the maximum Federal Pell Grant that is available for the award year, adjusted for enrollment status.  The federal government has established a lifetime limit of no more than 12 semesters (or its equivalent) for eligible students.  

Eligibility:

• You complete a FAFSA and are not eligible for a Federal Pell Grant on the basis of your Expected Family Contribution
• Meet the remaining Federal Pell Grant Eligibility requirements
• Your parent or guardian was a member of the U.S. armed forces and died as a result of military serve performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after the events of 9/11
• You were under 24 years old or enrolled in college at least part-time at the time of your parent’s or guardian’s death.

The Department of Defense (DOD) will identify eligible individuals.

Available to undergraduate students who has lost a parent because of military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. Student does not meet the Federal Pell grant Expected Family Contribution but must meet all other Federal Pell Grant requirements. Further, the student must be either under 24 years of age or enrolled in college at time of parents’ death. The amount is the approved maximum Federal Pell Grant annually minus federal sequester-required adjustments and cannot exceed cost of attendance.  

For more information regarding the Iraq and Afghanistan Service grant, please visit the Federal Student Aid site.

Changes to Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) and the Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship in 2024-25

Effective with the 2024-25 award year, as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, the Special Rule for Pell Grants replaces the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) and the Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship with new or modified eligibility criteria for a student who is less than 33 years old as of the first January 1 of the FAFSA award year and whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty while:

1. Serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001 (i.e., IASG); or
2. Actively serving as and performing the duties of a public safety officer (i.e., CFH).

Instead of an IASG or a CFH award, eligible students will receive a maximum Pell Grant regardless of their SAI (adjusted for enrollment intensity as needed).”

Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship

On March 23, 2018, the President signed Public Law 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which included an amendment to Section 473(b) of the Higher Education Act, authorizing the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship.

Under this scholarship, beginning with the 2018-2019 award year, a Pell-eligible student whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty while performing as a public safety officer is eligible to receive a maximum Pell Grant for the award year for which the determination of eligibility is made.

Eligibility

• Student must be Pell-eligible and have a Pell-eligible EFC (up to 5486 for the 2018-2019 award year).
• Student must be less than 24 years of age or enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of his or her parent’s or guardian’s death.
• For purposes of the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship, a public safety officer is:

As defined in section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b); or

A firefighter or police officer, defined as an individual who is serving in accordance with State or local law as an officially recognized or designated member of a legally organized public safety agency and provides scene security or directs traffic in response to any fire drill, fire call, or other fire, rescue, or police emergency, or at a planned special event.

Documentation

Provide to the Financial Aid Office one of below to document eligibility for this scholarship:

• A determination letter acknowledging eligibility for certain federal benefits under the Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) program administered by the Department of Justice;
• A written letter of attestation or determination made by a state or local government official with supervisory or other relevant oversight authority of an individual who died in the line of duty while serving as a public safety officer as defined above;
• Documentation of the student qualifying for a state tuition or other state benefit accorded to the children or other family members of a public safety officer consistent with the definition in 42 U.S.C. 3796b, or as a fire police officer as noted above; or
• Other documentation from a credible source that describes or reports the circumstances of the death and the occupation of the parent or guardian.

Changes to Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) and the Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship in 2024-25

Effective with the 2024-25 award year, as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, the Special Rule for Pell Grants replaces the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) and the Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship with new or modified eligibility criteria for a student who is less than 33 years old as of the first January 1 of the FAFSA award year and whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty while:

1. Serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001 (i.e., IASG); or
2. Actively serving as and performing the duties of a public safety officer (i.e., CFH).

Instead of an IASG or a CFH award, eligible students will receive a maximum Pell Grant regardless of their SAI (adjusted for enrollment intensity as needed).”