Federal Campus-Based Student Financial Aid

There are three Federal student financial aid programs that are known as campus-based programs.

They are administered by the financial aid office at each college that participates. Not all schools elect to participate in all three of the financial aid programs. You will need to check with the financial aid office at your shool to determine which student financial aid programs they participate in.

The three Federal Campus-based programs are:

1. The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is provided for undergraduates with exceptional financial need. Learn more about the FSEOG program.

2. The Federal Perkins Loan program is a low-interest (5 %) loan for both undergraduate and graduate students that have exceptional financial needs. Your school is the lender, and the loan is made with government funds. Learn more about the Federal Perkins Loan program.

3. The Federal Work-Study (FWS) program provides part-time jobs for both undergraduate and graduate students that need financial help. The work-study program encourages work related to the student's major and community service work.

Under the Federal Work-Study program you will be paid by the hour if you are an undergraduate. At a minimum, wages must equal the current federal minimum wage, but can be higher. Your school must pay you directly and at least once a month. Federal work-study students may not be paid by fee or commission. The amount you earn can not exceed your total FWS award.

When they are assigning your hours of work, your employer or financial aid administrator need to consider the amount of your FWS award, your class schedule, and how well you are doing in school.

If your FWS jobs in on campus, you will typically work for the school. If you work away from campus, your employer are usually a public agency or private nonprofit organization. The work that you do must be in the public interest.

The amount of money you can receive from these financial aid programs depends on your financial need, the amount of other financial aid you receive, and on the availability of funds at your college.

The campus-based programs provide a set amount of money each year for every school that participates. Once the money for a program is gone, no additional awards can be made from that program for that year.

You need to apply for campus-based federal student aid as early as you can. Each school sets their own deadlines and those deadlines are usually earlier than the FAFSA filing deadline.