Grants are a form of financial support, allowing students to reduce their out-of-pocket expenses when attending college. Most grants are need-based, ensuring students who may otherwise have trouble paying for their education can attend without breaking the bank.
Generally speaking, students don’t typically have to pay back grants. Unlike student loans, grants aren’t inherently a debt, so they don’t automatically come with a need for repayment.
There are a few situations where the answer to “Do grants have to be paid back?” is “yes.” In most cases, grants come with certain conditions. If the student doesn’t meet those conditions, they may have to repay the money.
If your student wants to make sure that they won’t have to pay back any college grants, the first thing they need to do is review any requirements and conditions. That way, they know what can trigger a repayment.
They’ll usually receive a notice from their college’s financial aid office with an overview of the money they need to repay and an explanation discussing why repayment is required.Usually, the student has 45 days to pay back the money.