Emergency grants when a bill arrives mid-term
When a bill you did not plan for threatens your term, your college may have emergency money set aside for that moment. Find out who holds it, what the request involves and how it affects your other aid.
Who holds the emergency fund
Emergency grants are usually run by the dean of students office, the financial aid office or a basic needs center, and some colleges split the work between them. The money often comes from donors and campus giving drives, and some funds are set aside by a college foundation. Because the pool is limited, colleges often cap how often one student can receive help.
The fund is meant for sudden costs that put enrollment at risk. Examples include a car repair that keeps you from reaching class, a rent shortfall after lost hours at work, a medical bill, a broken laptop or travel after a family emergency. Each college writes its own list of what it will and will not cover.
How to apply
Most colleges use a short online form that asks what happened, what the cost is and what you have already tried. Attach a bill, an estimate or a notice where you have one, since documents speed up the review. Some offices meet with every applicant, which also lets staff point you to other campus help such as a food pantry or short-term housing.
Decisions often come within days rather than weeks. The money may be paid to your student account, sent by direct deposit or paid straight to the business that billed you. Ask which method applies, because a payment to your student account may first clear a balance you owe the college.
Attach a bill, an estimate or a notice where you have one, since documents speed up the review.
How an emergency grant affects other aid
Colleges handle the effect on your aid offer in different ways. Some count an emergency grant as part of your aid for the year, and others treat it as help with an unexpected cost outside the regular budget. The aid office can tell you whether accepting it will change anything else in your offer.
If the emergency changes your situation for the rest of the year, such as a job loss in the family, ask the aid office about a professional judgment review as well. That review can update your aid for the whole year, while an emergency grant covers a single cost.
Steps to take this week
- Find your college's emergency grant page
- Gather the bill or estimate for the cost
- Contact the dean of students office
- Ask whether the grant changes your aid offer
Who decides
Your college's dean of students office or financial aid office
An emergency grant is meant for sudden costs mid-term, and the dean of students or the aid office can tell you how to request one.
