Dear Graduate Students,
As we continue to address the needs of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, we write to provide an update about funding resources available to students experiencing financial hardship.
As you may know, the federal government responded in March of 2021 by providing a third round of financial support to students and institutions of higher education within the American Rescue Plan (ARP). This legislation, and the accompanying regulations issued by the Department of Education on May 11, directed Georgetown to allocate $8,372,270 to students in emergency financial aid grants.
Georgetown allocated this evenly between undergraduate and graduate students, and disbursed nearly $7 million in student emergency grants in early June of 2021. Some funds were held in reserve for appeals and for awards in the next academic year, including slightly less than $700,000 for graduate students on the Main and Medical Campuses (excluding the School of Medicine). We will distribute approximately the same amount of funds to undergraduate students. We write now to share our plans for disbursing those funds.
In order to most effectively and equitably target graduate students with financial need, the Graduate School, GradGov and the Office of Student Financial Services encourage any graduate student with exceptional need stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for emergency grants through this online application for funds. Students will also be required to have filed a FAFSA or an International Profile if they have not already done so. Completion of the FAFSA/International Profile, as well as completion of the online application, are required in order to be considered for an award.
Students will have until Friday, October 15, to submit an application to be considered for an award. Applications will be reviewed and processed by October 29, and decisions on awards will be communicated in the first week of November.
Students with questions regarding these grants should review our Frequently Asked Questions before contacting 2021-cares-act@georgetown.edu.
As we all adapt to the new and ongoing stresses of the pandemic, we hope that you continue to find support in the Georgetown community.
Sincerely,
Alexander Sens
Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis Professor of Hellenic Studies
Patricia A. McWade
Dean of Student Financial Services