Financial Aid > Federal Programs > Eligibility

Federal Student Aid Programs Requirements

To receive aid from any of the federal student aid programs, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• have financial need, except for some loan programs.

• have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate, pass a test approved by the U.S. Department of Education, or meet other standards your state establishes that are approved by the U.S. Department of Education, or complete a high school education in a home school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under state law.

• be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program. (You may not receive aid for correspondence or telecommunications courses unless they are part of an associate, bachelor's, or graduate degree program.)

• not be enrolled simultaneously in elementary or secondary school.

• meet the citizenship requirements. Click here for more info.

• have a valid Social Security Number. If you don't have a Social Security Number, you can find out more about applying for one at www.ssa.gov

• meet satisfactory academic progress standards set by the postsecondary school you are or will be attending.

• sign a statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) certifying that you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes.

• sign a statement on the FAFSA certifying that you are not in default on a federal student loan and that you do not owe money back on a federal student grant.

• not borrow in excess of the annual or aggregate loan limits for Title IV loans.

• not have property subject to a lien for a U.S. debt.

• register with the Selective Service, if required.
  If you are a male 18 through 25 years of age and you have not yet registered with the Selective Service, you can give Selective Service permission to register you by checking a box on the FAFSA, or you can register right now online.

• not have disqualifying drug convictions.

When you apply for aid from the SFA Programs, the U.S. Department of Education verifies some of your information with the following federal agencies:

• Social Security Administration (for verification of Social Security Numbers and U.S. citizenship status),

• Selective Service System (for verification of Selective Service registration status, if applicable),

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (for verification of eligible noncitizen status, if applicable),

• Department of Justice (for verification that a student has not been denied Federal student aid by the courts as the result of a drug-related conviction),

• Veterans Administration (for verification of veterans status, if applicable, for dependency status purposes).

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