CFDA Number: 84.376
Also Known As: AC Grants; ACG; SMART Grants

The Academic Competitiveness Grant and SMART Grant program was created in the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2006, which became effective July 1, 2006. The program awards need-based Academic Competitiveness Grants to first- and second-year undergraduates who completed a rigorous high school curriculum, and SMART Grants to third- and fourth-year undergraduates majoring in certain technical fields or foreign languages deemed vital to national security.

Academic Competitiveness Grants and SMART Grants are performance-based grants awarded through participating postsecondary institutions to students with financial need. Recipients must be U.S. citizens who attend school full-time, are eligible to receive a Pell Grant, and meet other eligibility requirements related to–depending on the recipient’s year in school–completing a rigorous high school curriculum; majoring in mathematics, science, or selected foreign languages; and maintaining a required minimum grade point average (GPA). Participating institutions either credit the grant funds to the student’s school account, pay the student directly (usually by check), or combine these methods.

For more information, visit
http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/
students/english/SmartGrants.jsp.