Grants

For 2024-2025 and after, the Pell Grant is based off your Student Aid Index (SAI) and prorated based on your enrollment intensity.

If you are enrolled in:

• 12 Units - you are eligible for 100% of your Pell Grant award.
• 11 Units - you are eligible for 92% of your Pell Grant award.
• 10 Units - you are eligible for 83% of your Pell Grant award.
• 9 Units - you are eligible for 75% of your Pell Grant award.
• 8 Units - you are eligible for 67% of your Pell Grant award.
• 7 Units - you are eligible for 58% of your Pell Grant award.
• 6 Units - you are eligible for 50% of your Pell Grant award.
• 5 Units - you are eligible for 42% of your Pell Grant award.
• 4 Units - you are eligible for 33% of your Pell Grant award.
• 3 Units - you are eligible for 25% of your Pell Grant award.
• 2 Units - you are eligible for 17% of your Pell Grant award.
• 1 Unit - you are eligible for 8% of your Pell Grant award.

Remember, you are awarded on the assumption that you will be attending full time (12+ units), so if you are awarded $1,000 for the fall semester in Pell, but you will only be enrolled in  7 units, your Pell will prorate and you are eligible for 58% of the full-time award. In this example, you would be eligible for $580 (58%) of the $1,000 (100%) award.

For 2023-2024 and prior, the Pell Grant is based off your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and prorated based on the number of credits you are enrolled in.

• If you are in 12+ credits, you would be eligible for the full-time Pell award
• If you are in 9-11 credits, you would be eligible for ¾ of the full-time Pell award
• If you are in 6-8 credits, you would be eligible for ½ of the full-time Pell award
• If you are in 5 or less credits, you would be eligible for ¼ of the full-time Pell award

The Pell Grant has a lifetime limit, the equivalency of six-full time years (about 12 semesters at Fresno State). 

Each academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer), you can be eligible for up to 150% (three full-time semesters) of a Pell Grant, assuming you are not close to or at the lifetime limit.

 Eligibility Requirements – To be considered for the TEACH Grant, students must meet all of the following:

• Agree to teach at a low-income elementary or secondary school, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education’s Low Income School Directory, AND:
• Agree to teach in a high-need subject area, such as:
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Language Arts
  • Special Education
  • Core Subjects in Elementary Education
• Agree to teach full-time for at least four years within eight years of completing the teaching program
• Meet the first-year TEACH Grant determination GPA requirements:
  • Undergraduate students must have a final high school cumulative GPA of 3.25 or greater
  • Graduate/Credential students must have an undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.25 or greater
• Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher for subsequent years to remain eligible
• Be enrolled in a high-need teaching program (high-need subject areas vary by state and change annually) - Only the Undergraduate Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP), Undergraduate Mathematics Integrated Credential Option program, Education Specialist Credential, and CalStateTEACH (CST) Credential are eligible for the TEACH Grant.

Application Process:

All of the following must be done before you will be considered for the TEACH Grant:

• Complete the FAFSA for the academic year for which you are applying
• Complete and submit the TEACH Grant Request Form for the appropriate aid year
• Submit an Education Plan to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office from your advisor
• Complete the TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling at studentaid.gov
• Complete and Sign the Agreement to Serve at studentaid.gov

NOTE: All of the above needs to be done each year you wish to receive the TEACH Grant.

Upon completing your teaching program, you will need to do the TEACH Grant Exit Counseling.

While the TEACH Grant is a great opportunity, we again want to remind you that you must complete all requirements of the program – Failure to do so will result in the grant money received turning into a Federal unsubsidized loan with the interest accruing from the date the award disbursed. 

Failure to complete the requirements of the program can include:

• NOT teaching in a high-need subject area
• NOT teaching at a designated low-income school
• NOT teaching full-time for four years, within eight years of completing your teaching program

TEACH Grant recipients are also required to show that they are meeting the terms of the TEACH Grant Program by obtaining verification from the school site administrator each year during their full-time employment in a high-need subject area at a low-income school. There is NO credit for part-time teaching or partial fulfillment of service.

If you are deemed eligible, the TEACH Grant will be awarded to your my.FresnoState account. Keep in mind that the TEACH Grant, along with other financial aid cannot exceed the cost of attending Fresno State, which is determined based on your enrollment and living situation.

When the TEACH Grant disburses, if you decide that you no longer would like the award, you may cancel all or a portion of the award by providing the Fresno State Student Accounts Department with a cancellation request no later than 14 days from the date the award disbursed.

More information on the TEACH Grant.

View the Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Report, or view schools operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education.

The 2022-2023 TEACH Grant Request Form, listed under "2022-2023 Forms" will be available August 2022. 

Complete the online TEACH Grant Counseling and Agreement to Serve.

 As always, if you have any further questions regarding your financial aid or the TEACH Grant, please feel free to contact our office! 

To be eligible, you must meet all of the following, plus the GPA and financial requirements listed below:

• Complete the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application (but not both!) by the March 2^nd deadline. (NOTE, the application priority deadline was pushed back to May 2nd for 2024-2025 only.)
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen or meet AB540 eligibility criteria
• Be a California Resident for one year
• Attend a qualifying California college (Fresno State is a qualifying school!)
• Not have a Bachelor’s or professional degree
• Have financial need at the college of your choice
• Have family income and assets below the minimum levels
• Be enrolled or plan to enroll in a program leading towards an undergraduate degree or certificate
• Be enrolled or plan to be enrolled at least half time
• Have registered for the U.S. Selective Service, if required to do so.
• Not owe a refund on any state or federal grant or be in default on a student loan
• Not be incarcerated
• Maintain the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards as established by your school.

GPA Requirements:

• Cal Grant A: 3.0 GPA Minimum

• Cal Grant B: 2.0 GPA Minimum

Financial Requirements: If your family made more than the amount listed below from the income or if they had assets (example: Savings accounts, homes, businesses, etc.) for the year reported on the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application, you may not be eligible for a Cal Grant. However, if your family’s income has decreased since the tax year reported on your financial aid application, please contact us to speak with one of our counselors to see if/how we can help!

2024-2025 Financial Requirements

Income Ceilings

Dependent Students and Independent Students with dependents other than a spouse

The Cal Grant A is a fee paying award and is applied directly to your fees at Fresno State -- This award does not get disbursed directly to the student.

Cal Grant A Entitlement Award: Every graduating high school senior that has at least a 3.0 GPA, meets the financial and academic requirements, and applies on time will get this award.

• If you attend a California community college first, your award will be reserved for up to three years until you transfer to a four-year college/university, if you continue to qualify. When you transfer, please make sure to let us know that you have a reserve grant!
  

Cal Grant A Competitive Award: Other eligible students who have at least a 3.0 GPA may apply for the Cal Grant A Competitive award. Selection is based on a composite score that takes into consideration your family’s income, parents’ education level, GPA, time out of high school, and other factors such as whether you come from a single-parent household or are a former foster youth.

The Cal Grant B is a fee paying award and is applied directly to your fees at Fresno State -- This award does not get disbursed directly to the student. This award comes with an Access Award that is disbursed directly to the student. The first year that you receive the Cal Grant B, you are only eligible to receive the access award, but in your following years you will receive both the tuition paying award and the access award.

Cal Grant B Entitlement Award: Every graduating high school senior that has at least a 2.0 GPA, meets the financial and academic requirements, and applies on time will get this award.

Cal Grant B Competitive Award: Other eligible students who have at least a 2.0 GPA may apply for the Cal Grant A Competitive award. Selection is based on a composite score that takes into consideration your family’s income, parents’ education level, GPA, time out of high school, and other factors such as whether you come from a single-parent household or are a former foster youth.

The Cal Grant Transfer Entitlement Award is for students that are transferring directly from a California community college to a four-year university that offers a Bachelor’s degree in the academic year that they are applying for the award.

For students with dependent children (SWD): Independent students who have a dependent child or children under the age of 18 years old for whom they provide more than half of their financial support during the academic year, may qualify for an increase of the Cal Grant Access award up to $6,000 for both Cal Grant A and B recipients. 

• Please note: To qualify for the SWD award, the qualifying dependent child will need to be born prior to July 1 of the academic year. (For example, a child born before July 1, 2024, will qualify as a dependent child for the 2024-2025 academic year.)

Students will have to certify that they have a dependent child on WebGrants 4 Students in order for us to review their Cal Grant SWD award. Once you have certified that you have a dependent, CSAC will notify our office and you should  see updates on your account within 3-4 weeks.

For Future Teachers K-12: This grant affords one year of renewal Cal Grant for students seeking a teaching credential after completion of their bachelors degree. This grant must be requested within 15 months of the last payment of Cal grant received

This grant is requested by submission of a G44 form to:

California Student Aid Commission
   Grant Services Unit
   P. O. Box 419027
   Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-9028
   Phone: 1-888-224-7268

 If you think you might be eligible for a Cal Grant, you’ll want to make sure you create a WebGrants 4 Students account. You'll also want to monitor your WebGrants account and make sure to submit any documents they may need in order to maintain your Cal Grant eligibility. 

If you were not eligible for a Cal Grant and you feel this was in error, you may be able to submit an appeal to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). 

Please email Form G-18 to studentsupport@csac.ca.gov with the subject line G-18 CG Appeal.

The following are some of the common Cal Grant disqualifications reasons:

• Disqualification due to late FAFSA/CADAA - The deadline to submit the 2024-2025 FAFSA/CADAA application was May 2, 2024 for most Cal Grant programs (please note that this only applies to the 2024-2025 application). Unfortunately, if your application was submitted after the May 2 deadline, you may not be eligible to be considered for the Cal Grant award, unless circumstances outside of your control prevented you from submitting the application on time such as technical issues that the 2024-2025 FAFSA has experience.
  • If you were unable to submit your 2024-2025 FAFSA Application on time due to FAFSA’s technical issue, when submitting the Form G-18 please mark "On-time application reconsideration" under the action to be taken and "FAFSA/CADAA technical issues" under the reason beyond your control.
• Disqualification due to income/assets being over the asset ceilings - The income and asset information is determined based on the information that was provided on your FAFSA or CADAA at the time of your award consideration. If you feel like you have misreported your or your parent income on the FAFSA or CADAA application, please contact our office to review it.
• Disqualification due to unmet financial need -  To qualify for a Cal Grant award, you need to have a high enough financial need, as determined by CSAC. Your financial need is determined by using the federal methodology formula: Cost of Attendance (COA) minus Student Aid Index (SAI) equals Unmet Financial Need.
  • Cal Grant A: Must have a minimum financial need of at least the maximum Cal Grant A award amount plus $1,500
  • Cal Grant B: Must have a minimum financial need of at least $700

California residents making progress towards an undergraduate or post-baccalaureate degree are eligible if they meet the following criteria.

• Complete the FAFSA for that academic year by the priority deadline of March 2nd
• Have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of 4,000 or less
• Must be enrolled in at least six units for undergraduate students or four units for graduate students

 Other requirements include:

• Undergraduate Students: Must have less than 150 semester or 225 quarter units earned within their undergraduate career
• Undergraduate Transfer Students: Must have less than 75 semester or 112 quarter earned units while enrolled at a CSU campus
• Credential Students: Are eligible for their program length (for example, if your program requires 32 units, you are eligible for up to 32 units)
• Master’s Students: Eligible for up to 125% of their initial master’s, as defined by the General Catalog

Students working on a second bachelor’s, second credential, second master’s degree, or doctoral degrees are not eligible for SUG.

 There is no application for the SUG aside from completing the FAFSA. There is limited funding, so priority is given to those students who complete their FAFSA before the March 2nd deadline.

To be eligible for the Middle Class Scholarship at Fresno State, you must meet the following:

• Be a California resident attending a UC, CSU or CA Community College Bachelor’s degree program;
• Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or meet the requirements for non-resident tuition exemption;
• Meet certain income/asset and other financial aid standards;
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress;
• Not be in default on a student loan; and
• Must not be incarcerated.

There are also income and asset ceilings that determine student eligibility. You can review the incoming and asset ceilings here:

• 2023-2024 (Fall 2023 and Spring 2024)
• 2024-2025 (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025)

For additional information, visit the California Student Aid Commission’s Middle Class Scholarship website: https://www.csac.ca.gov/middle-class-scholarship 

You are considered for the Middle Class Scholarship through the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) by submitting your FAFSA or CADAA by the state priority deadline each year (May 2nd for 2024-2025 and March 2nd for all other aid years). If you are selected to receive the Middle Class Scholarship, you will be notified by CSAC. We usually receive rosters for students who are eligible for the award and begin awarding in November. The Middle Class Scholarship is not a set amount and depends on your other grant and scholarship aid as well as your annual cost of attendance. Any change in your financial aid award and cost of attendance can impact your Middle Class Scholarship eligibility and amount, resulting in an increase or reduction. These changes can happen throughout the academic year. The Middle Class Scholarship can be awarded up to four years depending on your grade level when you first receive it.

Please note that CSAC notifies students about their potential Middle Class Scholarship eligibility much earlier than institutions can award and disburse aid to students.

When will my Middle Class Scholarship Disburse? We only disburse Middle Class Scholarship funds after each semester's census date to minimize any potential billing due to changes in financial aid and cost of attendance. You will see a "MCS Review Hold" on your account, which will be removed once we are ready to disburse the semester's portion of the Middle Class Scholarship.

To qualify, the student must be enrolled in a preliminary teaching credential or pupil personnel service credential program. A student who has earned a clear credential or is enrolled in an induction program is not eligible. A current and valid FAFSA or CADAA for the appropriate aid year must also be on file with Fresno State, and the student must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. There is no need requirement, but students with the lowest income are prioritized in the certification and awarding process. The grant is included in the student’s annual Cost of Attendance. 

*NEW – July 2024* Due to California legislation updates to the GSTG Statute (Section 69617), the 2024-2025 GSTG program is experiencing significant delays and changes. CSAC does not anticipate that institutions will be able to begin the certification process for several months. More information will be available in the coming weeks as these changes are pending finalization and subject to change. We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@FSFinancialAid) for the most up-to-date GSTG news and financial aid information.

Beginning in 2024-2025, the California Legislature has established three cohorts with varying eligibility, awarding prioritization, maximum awarding sizes, and service obligations.

• Cohort 1: 2024-2025 Renewal Awards –Students partially paid in a prior academic year and are still enrolled in their program.
  •  Maximum Award Size: $20,000 for Preliminary or PPS Credential.
  • There is no funding limit in this cohort
  • 4-year service commitment within 8 years of completing the credential program
• Cohort 2: 2024-2025 New Applicants – Students who submitted their GSTG application on or before June 30, 2024.
  • Maximum Award Size: $20,000 for Preliminary or PPS Credential.
  • Prioritize eligible applicants with the lowest income
  • There is limited funding available in this cohort
    • Eligible students who are not awarded in Cohort 2 will be considered for Cohort 3.
  • 4-year service commitment within 8 years of completing the credential program
• Cohort 3: 2024-2025 New Applicants – Students who submitted their GSTG application on or after July 1, 2024.
  • Maximum Award Size: $10,000 for Preliminary or PPS Credential.
  • Prioritize eligible applicants with the lowest income
  • There is a possibility of limited funding in this cohort
  • Reduced 2-year service commitment within 4 years of completing the credential program

*NEW – July 2024* Due to California legislation updates to the GSTG Statute (Section 69617), the 2024-2025 GSTG program is experiencing significant delays and changes. CSAC does not anticipate that institutions will be able to begin the certification process for several months. More information will be available in the coming weeks as these changes are pending finalization and subject to change. We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@FSFinancialAid) for the most up-to-date GSTG news and financial aid information.

The student must apply for the appropriate academic year on the GSTG website to qualify. Fresno State certifies the student’s enrollment and amount, and CSAC will notify the student to sign their Service Agreement (SA). Funds are requested from the state controller’s office after the SA is signed, and it can take up to 8 weeks for the institution to receive them. Fresno State will contact the student via their Fresno State email to confirm if the student would like to authorize the university to cash their check and disburse it to their student account or if they prefer to pick up or have their check mailed. Students are strongly encouraged to authorize the university to cash their check(s) on their behalf as they can receive the funds more securely and quickly. Once CSAC switches to the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) process, GSTG funds will be disbursed to students' accounts; there will be no paper check option.

The Golden State Teacher Grant Application can be found here.

Application Deadlines

• 2023-2024 (Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024): April 1, 2024
• 2024-2025 (Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025): April 1, 2025
• 2025-2026 (Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026): April 1, 2026

NOTE: The application will be closed if GSTG funds are exhausted.

2025-2026 Academic Year
The 2025-2026 application opens on September 1, 2024. We encourage students to apply early, as funds may be limited! The soonest we will begin the 2025-2026 certification process is July 1, 2025.

The GSTG program funds only must be repaid if the student does not fulfill their service requirements. If a student does not meet these requirements, they will repay all funds back to the state. If a student withdraws from the university before funds have been received, the funds will be returned to the state, and the student’s record will indicate that they did not receive GSTG funds for that term. If the student withdraws from the university after funds have been received, they are not required to return funds to the university, but the student could be subject to repayment to the state if they do not fulfill their service agreement. Any questions about repayment should be directed to CSAC at goldenstateteachersgrant@csac.ca.gov. 

Resources

• An Overview of the Golden State Teacher Grant Program from the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC)
• The Golden State Teacher Grant Program application 

Some scholarships are funded through grants or private donations. These funds are managed by Fresno State Financial Services. The department determines the criteria for awarding students and sends the paperwork via AdobeSign. Signatures are requested in this order:

• Authorized Account Signer (Department)
• Financial Aid and Scholarships

After our office signs the form, a copy should be sent to the Post Award (PA) Analyst in the Foundation. The PA Analyst is the staff member who manages the funding. Once they process it on their end, the funds are wired to Student Accounts (SA) and payments go DIRECTLY to students as a refund regardless of any balance the student might have.

Doctoral Grants are tuition-specific only. They are not evaluated and awarded until the end of each semester. Students must make alternative arrangements to pay their balance by the fee payment deadline. Please note that the amount can vary based on the funding available.

Fresno State currently offers 3 doctorate programs:

• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
• Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

These programs are not eligible for the State University Grant (SUG) as the programs are considered “self-funded,” but students can be considered for their program’s doctoral grant each semester.

To be considered:

• Students must have a current valid FAFSA/CADAA on file, and
• Be enrolled in the program, and
• Have a SAI/EFC within 60% of the off-campus cost of attendance for the program. 

Each program might have their own additional requirements. Please check with your department.

BIA grants are tribal awards provided to students who are at least one-quarter American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut. You can review additional information at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Contact your tribal agency for pertinent information. Each Tribal Agency establishes their own award parameters.