College scholarships: amounts, for whom, how to get it?

This is news that should make life easier for many parents whose children are going to back to college. The government of Elisabeth Borne has announced that from the start of the 2024 academic year, social grants will be automatically paid to families, without them having to carry out any administrative procedures. For parents who meet the eligibility requirements, these college scholarships represent financial assistance. What are the conditions for get college scholarship ? What is the amount of scholarships and the ceiling?

What is the college scholarship?

The colleges scholarship is financial aid intended for families whose children are secondary school students. It ensures the costs related to the schooling and school life of students in college throughout the year.

Who can get a college scholarship?

To qualify for a college scholarship, the child must be enrolled either in a public college, a private college under contract (or outside the contract authorized by the rector of the academy to receive scholarship holders) or within a Cned college-level class (National Center for Distance Education). Next, the student’s parents are subject to certain means test. Their annual income must not exceed a certain ceiling, depending on the number of dependent children.

What are the resource limits for obtaining a college scholarship?

For the 2023-2024 school year, the resources taken into account for the college scholarship correspond to the annual income received in 2022. here are the applied ceilings for obtaining the college scholarship:

How much is the college scholarship?

There are three amounts for the college scholarship, which is paid quarterly. For the 2023-2024 school year, the amounts of the college scholarship will be 37 euros, 104 euros or 162 euros, depending on the number of dependent children and the income received. Here are in detail the scholarship amounts for the 2023-2024 school year:

For the 2023-2024 school year, the college scholarship application is still made online, on the Educonnect portal. To obtain it from a public institution, you will need to complete a form on the education services portalaccessible on the Public Service website.

Concerning students enrolled in private establishments or at the Cned, the procedure is slightly different. You will need to download the Cerfa forms no. 12539*13 and notice no. 51891#07from the Public Service site, attach supporting documents (tax notice and bank account statement in your name) and submit the complete file to the establishment where the child is educated.

When to apply for college scholarship?

The college scholarship application should be made as soon as possible. For the 2023-2024 school year, the request must be submitted until October 19, 2023 for public and private establishments, and until October 31, 2023 for the Cnedspecifies the Ministry of Education website. Once you have finalized your request, a registration acknowledgment will be sent to you. Your child’s school will then send you an acknowledgment of receipt.

To find out if you can get the college scholarships, you can do an online simulation through the College Scholarship Entitlement Calculator Simulator. Also check if you match the award criteria.

When is the college scholarship paid?

College scholarships are paid quarterly, at the beginning of each cycle. You will therefore receive three installments when the scholarship has been awarded to you. Depending on your departure request, this should be in September, January and April. Namely that the scholarship directly into the bank account of the legal guardian of the child, by the accounting officer of the college.

What other college financial aids are there?

Apart from the college scholarship, there are other financial aid for college students.

The “college social fund”

This fund has been designed to deal with the difficult situations that the families of middle school students may encounter to finance their child’s schooling and school life expenses (transportation or school outings, child care – oral care, glasses, hearing aids -, sports equipment, textbooks or school supplies). Aid is granted after consultation with a commission and the head of the school.

The “social fund for canteens”

This aid is paid to pay for the canteen when the latter weighs too much on the budget of the family of the schoolboy, from a disadvantaged background. It is the headteacher who also allocates this aid, according to certain criteria.

Sports pass

Launched in 2021 by the government of Emmanuel Macron, aid Sports pass can be granted to college students. This is a back-to-school sports allowance, the amount of which is 50 euros per child.

Aid from the department and the region

In addition to national scholarships, there are also local aid, at the level of the department and the region. Some municipalities grant them to students who meet certain award criteria. For more information and to request it, you must contact the town hall of your municipality, or the departmental or regional council.