Financial Aid: FAQ – BigFuture (2024)

FAQs

How often does BigFuture award $500 and $40000 scholarships to sophom*ores and juniors for completing college and career planning steps? ›

Scholarships for $500 and $40,000 are awarded monthly until February of your senior year. Completing any step enters you in the drawings on the first day of every month.

Earn entries in monthly drawings for $500 and $40,000 scholarships by completing the six qualifying steps on BigFuture. If you don't win, your entry rolls over for the next month.

Pell Grants also require satisfactory academic progress, and your school sets that standard. If you fail a class, then you may lose your grant or need to pay it back.

Generally, your school will give you your grant or loan money in at least two payments called disbursem*nts. In most cases, your school must give you your grant or loan money at least once per term (semester, trimester, or quarter).

If you've received scholarship funds that are greater than your cost of tuition and fees, oftentimes your college or university will send you a refund for the leftover money. Depending upon the terms of your scholarship, you can use these funds for another education-related expense.

There will be over 4,000 scholarship winners and more than $3 million given to students. The more steps you complete and the sooner you start, the more chances you have to win $500 and $40,000. 400 Winners 100 Winners Entry Window 50 Winners Half of the scholarships are reserved for lower-income students.

Every month, when students earn a $40,000 or $500 scholarship, each student recipient will receive an email to the address associated with their College Board account notifying them that they have won that month and the amount of their scholarship.

About the Scholarship

BigFuture Scholarships: Start Your Career List (Class of 2024) is available to current high school seniors. Students who save a list with three or more careers will earn entries into monthly drawings for $500 and $40,000.

Rhodes Scholarship - The Rhodes Scholarship was instituted in 1902 to sponsor brilliant academic students in their various fields. Fulbright Scholarship - The Fullbright scholarship was established to honor a past senator of Arkansas, Senator J. Williams.

Individuals who owe a refund on a grant made by a federal student aid program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act; Individuals in default on a Title IV loan; Individuals incarcerated in prison; and. Individuals convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs.

What GPA do you need for Pell Grant? ›

The Pell Grant has no minimum GPA; it is a purely need-based grant! That means that as long as you demonstrate need through the FAFSA and have gained admission to a college, you will qualify.

Do I have to repay my Pell Grant if I fail a course? If you fail a course, you will not have to repay the Pell Grant that you took out for it. Although failing a course can have drastic effects on your GPA and hurt your transcript, it will not require repayment of any Pell Grant funds.

Federal financial aid regulation states that if you withdraw from all of your classes or cease enrollment prior to the 60 percent point of instruction in any term, you will be required to repay all unearned financial aid funds received.

If you don't feel you've been given enough financial aid, you can always ask for more. Maybe your family's finances have changed, or maybe you have a better offer from another school you can use to negotiate. In such situations, you can submit an appeal letter requesting additional financial aid.

If you have financial aid remaining after the college applies it to your tuition and other required expenses, it will disburse the remainder to you. Schools must issue the remaining amount to you within 14 days unless you authorize your school to keep the money to pay for future charges.

Over 1.7 million scholarships are awarded annually; however, only 7% of college students will receive a scholarship. On average, first-time undergraduates who receive government grants and scholarships at a 4-year college receive about $14,890 annually.

Every month, when students earn a $40,000 or $500 scholarship, each student recipient will receive an email to the address associated with their College Board account notifying them that they have won that month and the amount of their scholarship.

According to the Education Data Initiative, around 25% of college students have some sort of partial scholarship to help pay for school. The average scholarship amount is $5,000 to $10,000 annually. These scholarships are typically available through the college you are planning on attending.