Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Want $4000 dollars? Study Russian @ Stetson!

Russian is a "critical needs" language and students who major in Russian Studies at Stetson are eligible, during their third and fourth years, for a $4000/year grant from the federal government, called a SMART grant.

SMART stands for "Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent," but last year they expanded the definition to include certain majors in high-needs foreign languages, like Russian. Russian is the only language that you can major in at Stetson that qualifies for this grant! Our students have already received the grant, and though there have been the predictable snafus associated with a new governmental program, they report that grants are easy to apply for and that, yes, they really get $4000 applied to their tuition...

To qualify, students must meet all of the qualifications:

  • Students must apply for financial aid each academic year by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  • Students must be eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant, as determined by Purchase College’s Financial Aid Office.
  • Students must be U.S. Citizens.
  • Students must be enrolled fulltime each semester, which the federal government has determined to be 12 credits or more each semester.
  • Students must be in their third or fourth academic year of a four-year degree program. In other words, student must have earned between 60 and 120 credits.
  • Students must be pursuing a major in mathematics, science (including physical, life, and computer sciences), technology, engineering, or a critical foreign language, such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Russian.
  • Students must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 each semester.

Come, talk to me about majoring in Russian Studies! It's a great major to combine with other majors -- we've recently graduated students with double-majors in Russian Studies & English, Russian Studies & History, Russian Studies & Political Science, Russian Studies & International Studies, and International Business and Russian Studies... But I'd love to work with you on creating a double-major in other fields, like Environmental Science, Psychology, Education, Sociology... You name it.

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