INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT

A grant that guarantees 100% of certain tuition costs will be met by the State of Indiana for eligible members of the Indiana Air and Army National Guard

To be eligible for a National Guard Supplemental Grant (NGSG) a student must be certified by both the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) and the Indiana National Guard (NG).

SSACI Eligibility

1. FAFSA - The student must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) between January 1st and March 1st of each year they intend to enroll in college.  If necessary, the FAFSA must be corrected to make it error-free before June 1st of the filing year.  Filing an error-free FAFSA means the student will be automatically considered for state need-based tuition-specific aid including the NGSG -- no separate application process is required.  The form must be returned to the Federal government at the address listed on the FAFSA.

2. Residency - If the student is determined by FAFSA data to be dependent on their parents for financial support, the student's parents must be residents of Indiana since at least December 31st of the previous year.  If the student is determined to be independent of their parents, the student must be a resident of Indiana since at least December 31st of the previous year.

3. High School - The student must be a high school graduate.  Allowances can be made for students earning a GED or who were home-schooled, but only on a case by case basis involving a written appeal to SSACI before June 1st of the filing year.

4. Undergraduate - The student must be seeking their first associate or bachelor degree at a state college or university.  The NGSG cannot be used for graduate school or for professional degrees such as in law.

*  What to do - Applying for state financial aid begins and ends with filing the FAFSA by March 1st and correcting any errors in a timely fashion.  SSACI, the federal government, or the school to which the student is applying, and possibly all three notify filers of errors.  Errors must be corrected through the student's Student Aid Report (SAR) sent to every FAFSA filer by the federal government.

NG Eligibility

1. Drilling Status - The student must be in active drilling status.  The unit commander is the sole determiner of this status.  This applies to each academic term.

2. AWOL - The student cannot have been AWOL at any time during the 12 months prior to their enrollment in college for any academic term.  The unit commander is the sole determiner of this status.  This applies to each academic term.

3. FTA - The student must complete all the NG paperwork necessary to apply for Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA) and must have all the paperwork approved by the appropriate NG education office before the start of classes.  Forms and process differ by NG branch (e.g., form DA2171 or AF1227) and FTA is applicable to only active duty Air Guard members.  The appropriate forms must be completed and approved by the NG even if it is determined that the student's award will be zero dollars, that is, that the student cannot receive FTA.

4. Official List - The student's name and other pertinent data as required by SSACI must be on an official list submitted to SSACI by the appropriate headquarters education offices of the NG as soon as possible after classes start for each term the student is enrolled.

*  What to do - Being certified by the NG means starting at the unit command level and then proceeding to the headquarters or airbase education offices for final approval before the start of classes.  Certification must be done for each term of enrollment.