Campus Based Programs

The three programs discussed in this section are called campus-based programs because they're administered directly by the financial aid office at each participating school. Not all schools participate in all three programs. The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program awards grants; the Federal Work-Study Program offers jobs; and the Federal Perkins Loan Program offers loans. Even though each program is different, they have these characteristics in common:

• How much aid you receive depends on such factors as your financial need (see page 8), on the amount of other aid you'll receive, and on the availability of funds at your school. Unlike the Federal Pell Grant Program, which provides every eligible student with funds, each school participating in any of the campus-based programs receives a certain amount of funds each year from the federal government for each campus-based program. When that money is gone, no more awards can be made from that program for that year.
• Each school sets its own deadlines for students to apply for campus-based funds. The deadlines will usually be earlier than the U.S. Department of Education's deadline for filing a FAFSA (for 2002-2003, June 30, 2003). Ask your financial aid administrator about the school's deadlines. You may miss out on aid from these programs if you don't apply early.