Governor Terry E. Branstad Iowa State Fair Scholarship

GENERAL STUDENT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

This Chapter outlines basic student eligibility requirements for the Iowa Department of Education’s Bureau of Iowa College Aid (Iowa College Aid) student financial aid programs. Specific requirements about individual programs and any exceptions to these General Requirements can be found in individual program chapters (see Chapters 4 through 16).

A. ELIGIBLE STUDENTS

To receive state-funded student financial aid in Iowa, students must be:

• Residents of the state of Iowa (as defined in this Chapter), and
• United States citizens or nationals, or
• U.S. permanent residents, other eligible noncitizens, or citizens of the Freely Associated States: the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands (as stipulated for Federal Student Aid eligibility).
  • The All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship requires a student to be a US citizen or national or a U.S. permanent resident.

Note: Undocumented students are not eligible for financial aid programs appropriated by the State of Iowa. 

These general guidelines are consistent with Federal Department of Education requirements provided in Volume 1, Chapter 2 of the Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook. Other general eligibility requirements, consistent with Title IV federal student aid eligibility, are also applicable to state financial aid eligibility.

In addition, applicants must:

• Be currently enrolled or planning to enroll in an undergraduate or graduate degree program that is eligible for federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
• Complete required application(s).
• Demonstrate financial need, as defined by Iowa College Aid (in Section E of this chapter), for need-based programs.

For incarcerated recipients state aid can be used for direct costs only, no refund of state aid can be made to the student.