To ensure consideration for a Cal Grant make sure that you file your FAFSA and turn in your GPA Verification Form (more info) BEFORE March 2.

The California Student Aid Commission and its Grant Advisory Committee held extensive public meetings to formulate the selection criteria that would be used to select the 11,250 Competitive Cal Grant recipients for the 2006-07 award year. California statute directed that the Commission stress the selection of eligible applicants who find it difficult to pursue an education beyond high school.

The Commission received nearly 387,000 on-time applications for the 11,250 awards. Over 96,000 of these applicants demonstrated financial need for an award. To determine eligibility for an award, an applicant's GPA and income were used in the Commission's computation. However, these two areas were not the only criteria used for selection. In addition to the GPA and income, scoring criteria also included parents’ education levels, household status, the high school the applicant attended and the number of years since the applicant attended high school.

Cal Grant awards are intended to be a part of a complete financial aid package, which may include federal, campus based, institutional and other private sources of aid. Students who are not eligible to receive a Cal Grant award may be eligible for other financial aid programs.

Question concerning this fact sheet can be directed to the Commission's Customer Service Branch in writing at:
PO Box 419027, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-9027;
via e-mail at custsvsc@csac.ca.gov;
or by calling 1-888-224-7268

* A school that participates in the Title I program refers to a high school that ranks in the top quartile for the federal Title I Free or Reduced Lunch Program or ranks in the lowest quartile for university going rates and has at least 25% participation rate in the federal Title I Free or Reduced Lunch Program.