The Florida Student Assistance Grant is the state’s need-based grant for undergraduates who cannot cover college costs on their own. It pays between $200 and a maximum the Legislature sets each year, does not have to be repaid, and runs as three separate programs depending on whether you attend a public institution, a private nonprofit college, or a specialized postsecondary school. To be considered for the 2026–2027 award year, you need a completed FAFSA on file by May 15, 2026.
Who Qualifies
The core requirements are the same across all three programs. You have to be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen and a Florida resident for tuition purposes, which generally means you or your parent has lived in the state for at least twelve consecutive months before the term starts. Your school verifies both.
You cannot already hold a bachelor’s degree from any institution, in the U.S. or abroad. The grant is for students working toward a first undergraduate credential. You also cannot be in default on a state or federal student loan or owe a repayment on a prior grant or scholarship. Making satisfactory repayment arrangements restores eligibility, but no money moves until that is cleared up.1Florida Department of Education. Florida Student Assistance Grant Program Fact Sheet
Every applicant must also apply for the federal Pell Grant. Florida factors your Pell entitlement into the need calculation, so skipping Pell disqualifies you from FSAG even if everything else lines up.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.50 – Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program; Eligibility for Grants
How Much You Can Receive
The floor is $200 per year. The ceiling is set annually by the Legislature through the General Appropriations Act and can change from one year to the next. Where you land inside that range depends on your unmet need after Pell and other aid are counted.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.50 – Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program; Eligibility for Grants
Summer awards are possible if money remains after the fall and spring terms, with priority going to students within one semester of finishing. FSAG stacks with other Florida aid, including Bright Futures, as long as your combined aid does not exceed your cost of attendance. The school adjusts awards to keep you under that line.
Which FSAG Program Applies To You
Which program you fall under is decided by where you enroll, not by anything you choose on the FAFSA.
FSAG Public
This is the largest program and covers degree-seeking students at Florida’s public state universities and Florida College System institutions. You can enroll in as few as six credit hours per term and still receive a prorated award. Funding runs through 110 percent of the credit hours your program requires, so a 120-credit bachelor’s degree is covered for up to 132 credits.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.50 – Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program; Eligibility for Grants
FSAG Private
This program is for degree-seeking students at private nonprofit colleges that are accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, located in Florida, and chartered as a Florida domestic corporation. Full-time enrollment is required, and funding is available for up to nine semesters or fourteen quarters.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.51 – Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program; Eligibility for Grants
FSAG Postsecondary
This program covers students at specialized schools that fit neither of the other two categories: private nursing diploma schools approved by the Florida Board of Nursing, colleges licensed by the Commission for Independent Education, and FAA-certified aviation maintenance schools licensed by the Commission for Independent Education. Full-time enrollment is required. The nine-semester or fourteen-quarter cap applies, except aviation maintenance students are capped at 110 percent of the clock hours in their program.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.52 – Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance Grant Program; Eligibility for Grants
If You’re In a Career Certificate Program
The three programs above are for degree students. A separate program, the FSAG for Career Education under Section 1009.505, covers students in certificate programs of 450 or more clock hours at Florida College System institutions or career centers. Enrollment can be as low as 180 clock hours per term, and renewal standards are its own.5Florida Department of Education. Florida Public Postsecondary Career Education Student Assistance Grant Fact Sheet
Filing the FAFSA
Eligibility starts at StudentAid.gov. The FAFSA collects household income, tax data, and asset information to produce a Student Aid Index, which replaced the older Expected Family Contribution. A lower SAI means more unmet need and a better chance of funding.
There is a hard ceiling: if your SAI exceeds one and one-half times the maximum Pell-eligible family contribution, the school cannot award you an FSAG grant. If your calculated unmet need falls below $200, you are also ineligible.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.50 – Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program; Eligibility for Grants
The Deadline Is Only Half the Story
Florida’s state FAFSA deadline for the 2026–2027 award year is May 15, 2026.6Federal Student Aid. FAFSA Application Deadlines But FSAG funds are limited and awarded first-come, first-served, with the lowest SAIs getting priority. Money often runs out well before May. File as soon as the FAFSA opens in October.
Your school may also set an earlier internal deadline. Ask the financial aid office for the exact date your FAFSA needs to be processed error-free. A FAFSA submitted on time but returned for corrections can miss the cutoff if the fix lands after the institution’s deadline.1Florida Department of Education. Florida Student Assistance Grant Program Fact Sheet
Dependency and Professional Judgment
Whether the FAFSA uses your parents’ financial information depends on your dependency status. For 2026–2027, you are independent if you were born before January 1, 2003, are married, are a graduate student, are a military veteran or active-duty service member, have legal dependents who get more than half their support from you, or were in foster care or a ward of the court at any point after age 13.7Federal Student Aid. 2026-2027 Federal Student Aid Handbook – Filling Out the FAFSA Form
If none of those fit and you genuinely cannot access your parents’ financial information, federal law lets financial aid administrators override your dependency status case by case. Schools cannot have a blanket policy against these requests and cannot charge for the review. Bring documentation: court orders, letters from social service agencies, or evidence of separation from your parents.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 USC 1087tt – Discretion of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Keeping the Grant Year to Year
Receiving the grant once does not carry it forward. Renewal turns on two things: grades and credits completed.
You need a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale at the end of each academic year. Below that, the grant does not renew. The credit hour requirement scales with how much you were funded: a full-time award requires 12 credits for each term you were funded, so a student funded full-time for fall and spring must finish at least 24 credits by year’s end. Three-quarter and half-time funding carry proportionally lower targets.1Florida Department of Education. Florida Student Assistance Grant Program Fact Sheet
If you fall short, the grant stops. Many schools have a satisfactory academic progress appeal where you can explain extenuating circumstances and ask for reinstatement. Contact the financial aid office right away; waiting until the next year makes recovery harder because the money may already be redistributed.
If Your Finances Change After You File
The FAFSA uses an older tax year, so it can miss what is happening right now. Federal law lets a financial aid administrator adjust your aid for things like a parent’s job loss, large unexpected medical expenses, a change in housing status, or a family member’s severe disability. The administrator can modify your cost of attendance, your SAI, or your dependency status.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 USC 1087tt – Discretion of Student Financial Aid Administrators
These decisions are made one student at a time by your school’s aid office. Bring documentation: pay stubs showing reduced income, medical bills, a layoff notice, or official records that back up what you are telling them. Schools are required to publicize that this process exists, so if you cannot find it on the website, ask directly.
If You Have To Withdraw
Dropping all your courses before you complete 60 percent of the term triggers a federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation. The school figures out what percentage of your aid you earned based on how far into the term you got; the rest has to be returned. Past the 60 percent mark, you have earned the full amount and owe nothing back.9Federal Student Aid. General Requirements for Withdrawals and the Return of Title IV Funds The practical result is that even if the school refunds your tuition, you can still owe money for charges the grant had covered. Talk to the financial aid office before you withdraw so you know what the bill will look like.