Academic Competitiveness Grant
The Academic Competitiveness (AC) Grant is to provide college students who completed a rigorous course of study in high school with additional grant money. The AC Grant provides a one-time grant of up to $750 for the first-year college student and up to an additional $1,300 for second-year students who complete rigorous high school course work, are enrolled full-time and maintain a 3.0 GPA. A final high school transcript must be on file in the Records Office.
An eligible first year college student is defined as a student who has earned 24 or less college level semester hours and graduated high school after January 1, 2006.
An eligible second year college student is defined as a student who graduated after January 1, 2005 and has earned a 3.0 GPA in their first 24 college level semester hours.
To apply for an Academic Competitiveness Grant, a student must first meet the following general eligibility requirements:
• Have received a high school diploma
• U.S citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Must be enrolled full-time
• Must be Pell grant eligible
• Be enrolled in a U.S. Department of Education approved associate degree program.
• Not be in default on a Federal student loan or owe repayment of Pell
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (PDF )
In addition, an eligible student must also:
• Be in their first or second academic year of a two – or four-year degree program
– First year students must have completed high school on or after January 1, 2006
– Second year students must have completed high school on or after January 1, 2005
• Must have completed a rigorous high school program of study as designated by their State
• For Illinois, a rigorous high school program is defined as completing with passing grades:
– 4 years of English
– 3 years of Math (including Algebra I and a higher level course such as Algebra II, Geometry, or Data Analysis and Statistics)
– 3 years of Science (including at least two courses from biology, chemistry or physics)
– 3 years of social studies
– 1 year of foreign language
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Completing a minimum of 2 Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in high school and a minimum passing score on the exams for those classes. Student must score 3 or higher on AP exams and 4 or higher on IB exams.Students should start the application process(PDF) by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online. It is recommended that students complete College of DuPage’s Admission application prior to filing their FAFSA.
If you filed the FAFSA online, the Office of Student Financial Aid should receive your results within two weeks. Our office will then contact you by mail to request additional information that may include, but is not limited to: A College of DuPage Data Confirmation Sheet and copies of Federal Tax Returns and W-2 information.
Your financial aid specialist may take four to six weeks to process your file after all required documents are submitted. Processing time depends upon the application length and/or corrections. It is strongly suggested that students apply at least 10 weeks before the start of the semester.Notification of your award:
You will receive an award letter notifying you of your maximum AC Grant award for the academic school year. Please refer to Understanding Your Financial Aid (PDF) brochure for important information on withdrawing from classes and deadline dates for enrollment. Students who have excessive drops or do not complete 67 percent of their classes (PDF) will risk losing their financial aid.
Withdrawals:
According to the Federal Refund Policy, if you withdraw from all your classes prior to completing 60 percent of the term, you could owe a refund of grant and/or loan funds to College of DuPage and to the federal government. The amount owed will be based upon your grant and/or loan eligibility. As always, please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid prior to dropping classes.
Federal Financial Aid is paid based upon attendance in classes. If you receive a failing grade or withdrawal from class for failure to attend, you may owe a portion or all of your grant and/or loan funds to College of DuPage and the federal government. The date of your last participation in an academically-related course activity determines the period utilized for determining your final award.
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