Grants

A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid. Pell Grants are awarded only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree. Pell Grants are considered a foundation of federal financial aid, to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources might be added. There are limits on the maximum amount you are eligible to receive each academic year and in total (aggregate Pell Grant limit).

Eligibility

The Estimated Family Contribution calculated by the FAFSA determines if the student is Pell-eligible and the amount the student is entitled to. To qualify for a Pell grant, the office of financial aid must receive a valid FAFSA while the student is enrolled. If the FAFSA is received after the semester is over, the Pell grant awarded must be based upon completed credits.

Effective with the Fall 2012 semester, students are now limited to 12 semesters (600%) of Pell Grant eligibility during their lifetime. In December 2011, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74). This law has significantly impacted the Pell Grant Program. Beginning in Fall 2012, Students are now limited to 12 semesters (or 600%) of Pell Grant eligibility during their lifetime. This change affects all students regardless of when or where they received their first Pell Grant. 

How do I know if this affects me? 

If you have attended college for 4 years or longer, receiving the Pell Grant each year as a full-time student, you are likely to exhaust or have already exhausted your lifetime limit of 12 semesters of Pell Grant eligibility. If you have attended college and received the Pell Grant for 4 years or less, you will likely not surpass the lifetime limit. Whether you have used all of your Pell Grant eligibility or only half, please be conscious about the lifetime limit of the Pell Grant when changing majors and/or scheduling classes.

How is the percentage used calculated? 

The percentages are based off the annual award at full-time enrollment status. For students with an annual award for the 2014–15 academic year, at the maximum award of $5,730 who attend 12 or more credits per semester in two semesters (Fall and Spring for example), the percentage used for the 2014–15 academic year is 100%. If you only attend as a part-time student, your percentage used will be prorated.

How will I be notified?

Beginning in mid-April 2012, the Department of Education sent emails to all FAFSA applicants who appeared to qualify for a federal Pell Grant and who reached 450 % of their Lifetime Eligibility Used Pell Grant. 

Examples

Student has remaining Pell eligibility for future semesters.

Questions?

Our financial aid counselors are available to discuss the change in the lifetime Pell Grant eligibility with you. Please call us at 410-532-5369 or e-mail finaid@ndm.edu.

Learn More About the Federal Pell Grant

• Available to Pell eligible undergraduate students with exceptional financial need
• The amount awarded is determined by the student's need and the availability of funds at the University
• To apply for the grant, complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by Notre Dame's priority deadline of February 15. This grant is awarded on a priority basis using the FAFSA receipt date and based on the availability of funds.

Learn More About the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

About

Through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Congress created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants of up to $4,000* per year to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families in a high need subject area.

*Due to sequestration, TEACH grant awards where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2014 must be reduced by 7.3% from the award amount for which the student would otherwise have been eligible to receive. 

In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students (see below for more information on high-need fields and schools serving low-income students). As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.

Eligibility Requirements

• Must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a post secondary educational institution
• Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Such coursework may include subject area courses (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher)
• Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25)
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (see below for more information on the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve)

If you meet these requirements, fill out a TEACH Grant Application and submit it to the financial aid office.

Identified Teacher Shortage Areas & High-Need Fields

The Department of Education's Annual Directory of Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits includes both elementary and secondary schools.

High-Need Fields Include

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education

There may be other identified teacher shortage areas as of the time you begin teaching in that field. These are teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing.

For further information, visit Student Aid's website or email the office of financial aid.

TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve

If you are eligible to receive the TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve that is available electronically on a Department of Education Web site. The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were disbursed.

For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which the student received TEACH Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight calendar years after you completed or withdrew from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant. You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher in a high need subject at a low-income school. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

Learn More About the TEACH Grant

A student whose parent or guardian was a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and died as a result of service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 may be eligible to receive the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.

Additional Student Eligibility Requirements

• Must be ineligible for a Federal Pell Grant due only to having less financial need than is required to receive Pell funds, and
• Be under 24 years old, or
• Enrolled in college at least part-time at the time of the parent’s or guardian’s death.

The grant award is equal to the amount of a maximum Pell Grant for the award year – not to exceed the cost of attendance for that award year.

The NDMU Promise

The Promise Program is a financial aid program that provides University funding to students who have a financial need after completing the FAFSA. The program seeks to bridge the gap between the grants provided by state and federal governments and NDMU’s tuition and fees. We anticipate that 2024-2025 admitted students with a FAFSA SAI of $0 will receive a grant package equal to their full tuition & fees. Unlike a loan, the student will not have to pay this money back.

Incoming residential students that are awarded the State’s Guaranteed Access Grant (i.e. have a family income of 130% or less of the federal poverty level) are guaranteed via NDMU’s Promise Program to be awarded a combined grant package equivalent to tuition, fees, and room & board.

To be considered for the program, students must file their FAFSA as soon as possible.

Questions? Contact admiss@ndm.edu

Maryland Transfer Grant

Notre Dame of Maryland University is proud to offer the Maryland Transfer Grant to help make a quality education more accessible to Maryland residents. The grant is automatically applied to the financial aid package of accepted students who meet the criteria below, in addition to any merit scholarship offered.

• Available to all new transfer students to Undergraduate Studies
• Must be residents of Maryland
• $5,000 awards
• Not applicable to dual-enrollment students

To accept or decline state awards please log on to MD CAPS.

Howard P. Rawlings Educational Assistance Grant

Any Maryland high school senior or undergraduate student is eligible to apply for an Educational Assistance Grant. Awards are made by the State Scholarship Administration based upon the student' demonstrated financial need.

Eligibility

• Must be a legal resident of Maryland
• Must demonstrate financial need
• Must be accepted for admission as a full-time student (minimum 12 credits per semester) in one of the eligible, degree-granting institutions in the State of Maryland

Award Amount

Grant values range from $400 to $3,000 per year.

How to Apply

To apply for the grant, your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be received by the state by  March 1. This grant is awarded on a priority basis on the FAFSA receipt date and based on the availability of funds.

Howard P. Rawlings Guaranteed Access Grants

Any Maryland high school senior whose annual total family income is below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level is eligible to apply for a Guaranteed Access Grant.

Eligibility

• Must be a legal resident of Maryland
• Must begin college within one year of completing high school
• Must have successfully completed a college preparatory program and achieved an unweighted grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
• Must be accepted for admission as a full-time student (minimum of 12 credits per semester) in one of the eligible degree-granting institutions in the State of Maryland

Award Amount

The amount of a grant equals 100 percent of the student's financial need. The minimum annual award amount is $400 and the maximum award is $18,400.  Notre Dame of Maryland University participates in the Guaranteed Access Partnership Program that provides a matching grant to recipients of the GA Grant.  The amount of the match grant will be comprised of academic and institutional awards.

How to Apply

To be considered for a Guaranteed Access Grant, students must submit a Guaranteed Access Grant application to the Office of Student Financial Assistance and your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be received by the state by March 1.

2+2 Transfer Scholarship

The 2+2 Transfer Scholarship assists transfer students from Maryland community colleges to attend a 4-year institution.

Eligibility

• Must be a legal resident of Maryland
• Currently enrolled at a community college in Maryland
• Earned an associate's degree by the end of the semester which you plan to transfer
• Must be accepted to a degree program at a 4- year higher education institution in Maryland
• Enrolled to complete a bachelor's program

Award Amount

The annual award amount will be $1,000.  For students who enroll in a science, teaching, engineering, computer science, mathematics, or nursing program, the amount will be $2,000.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit the 2+2 Transfer Scholarship application on MD CAPS, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), submit an official college transcript reflecting the applicant has earned an associate's degree from a community college in Maryland, and the documentation if applicable that the student has registered with the selective service system.

Workforce Shortage Grant

The Workforce Shortage Student Assistance Grant (WSSAG) program is for students who plan on working in specific career/occupational programs upon graduation. The grant is available for current high school seniors, full-time and part-time, degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in eligible accredited Maryland postsecondary institution.

Eligible Fields

• Child Care
• Human Services
• Teaching
• Nursing
• Physical and Occupational Therapy
• Public Service

How to Apply

Complete and file the Workforce Shortage Student Assistance Grant application by July 1 and provide official transcripts from institutions attended. To be considered based on need, students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the application year. The FAFSA is not required; however, it will be used to determine the order in which students will be awarded.

Certain majors may requires additional documentation, which will be noted on the application. Applicants for the William Donald Schaefer Scholarship are required to submit, in addition to the application and transcripts, a FAFSA, a 1,000 word essay on a topic determined by the Commission and Advisory Council, a resume and three (3) letters of reference.

Maryland Part-Time Grant

The Maryland Part-Time grant is available for part-time (6-11 credits), degree-seeking undergraduates.

Award Amount

The minimum Part-Time Grant award is $200, and the maximum award is $2,000. Funds may not be available to award all eligible students.

How to Apply

Students must complete and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The office of financial aid will award to eligible students in the fall and spring semesters. No application is required.

Contact for Financial Assistance Information from the State of Maryland:

Maryland Higher Education Commission
Office of Student Financial Assistance
6 N. Liberty Street, Ground Suite
Baltimore, Maryland 21201 
mhec.state.md.us
410-260-4500 or 1-800-974-0203