Categories
University Updates

CARES Act Distribution Information

On Tuesday, May 12 the university sent an email providing students with information related to CARES Act distribution. The COVID-19 CARES Act is part of federal government COVID-19 emergency grants provided to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.

The email stated that per federal guidelines, students are only eligible to receive CARES Act funding through option one or option two as outlined below.

  1. COVID-19 CARES Act awards will be allocated proactively to students with the highest urgency as determined by Financial Aid.
  2. Supplemental funding will be allocated to students who apply through the COVID-19 Student Emergency Assistance Funding process.

The eligibility guidelines for the COVID-19 CARES Act awards proactively allocated by Financial Aid are as follows:

  • Students must be Title IV eligible;
  • Students must not have been enrolled in a fully online program prior to the pandemic;
  • Students must be currently enrolled as a graduate or undergraduate in good Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP);
  • Graduate students must have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $5,576 or less;
  • Undergraduate students must have an EFC of $9,999 or less, with unmet financial need of $1,000 or more;
  • Students must have filed a valid/complete FAFSA;
  • Students must have accepted all the financial aid offered to them.

Additionally, according to the email, IF YOU DO NOT QUALIFY FOR A COVID-19 CARES ACT AWARD OR DID NOT RECEIVE AN AWARD FROM THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE but you still require financial support due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you can apply for emergency funding by visiting the COVID-19 Student Emergency Assistance Funding information page and application.  CARES Act funding is just one of the funding sources used to make emergency awards.

There will be additional opportunities to apply for emergency funding for summer and fall semesters.  Information is forthcoming. The university will distribute emergency funding as quickly as possible.  Further clarification is available by reading CARES funding FAQs.

If you have questions about an award that has been posted on your financial aid account, please contact finaid@gmu.edu.

If you have questions about the COVID-19 emergency assistance funding process, please contact University Life at ulife@gmu.edu.

As always, if you have feedback related to this update, please email sg@gmu.edu.