The New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) provides financial assistance and support services (e.g. counseling, tutoring) to students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who attend institutions of higher education in the State of New Jersey. Forty-one of New Jersey's community colleges and public and private four-year colleges and universities participate in the EOF Program. However, the actual number of available spaces at each college or university is limited. To participate in an EOF program, students must be New Jersey residents and must apply to a New Jersey college or university and file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Because EOF is a campus-based program, each campus is responsible for student recruitment, selection, program services, and its own specific criteria for EOF admission and program participation. Students should contact the EOF department at (973) 748-9000 ext.348 specific admissions information and requirements for participation in the EOF program.
To apply for the EOF program, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must be a US citizen or eligible non-citizen with a valid Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form I-151, I-551, or I-94 indicating that you are a permanent resident AND you must be a legal resident of New Jersey for at least one year prior to enrollment.
- You must be a first generation college student (i.e., your parents are not four-year college graduates).
- You must receive a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma by the time you register for college.
- You must provide evidence of your ability to succeed in college.
- You must have a documented history of financial and academic disadvantage.
- You and/or your family must meet the income guidelines listed on the chart.
To be eligible for an undergraduate EOF grant, a student must demonstrate a history of poverty, which generally includes documented, long-term economic hardship of the family, such as very little or no accumulation of assets and the inability to provide more than the basic needs of family members, as demonstrated by at least one of the following:
1. Having attended or graduated from a DFG A or B school district or an Abbott school district;
2. Having resided in a municipality that is a high-distress/labor surplus area, or is considered an eligible urban aid municipality, and/or is eligible to receive Early Childhood Program Aid (ECPA) from the New Jersey Department of Education;
3. Having resided in an area that historically has been populated by low-income families, such an area, commonly called a “pocket of poverty,” has characteristics of a high-distress/labor surplus area, even if the municipality is not formally so identified;
4. Having a sibling who was or is enrolled in an EOF Program;
5. Being a first-generation college student who is, or whose family is, eligible for government assistance and/or educational programs targeted toward low-income and disadvantaged populations (TRIO programs, free and reduced breakfast/lunch programs, food stamps); or
6. Having successfully completed a NJ GEAR UP state project or NJ college
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EOF students receive both TAG (Tuition Aid Grant) and EOF grants from the state of New Jersey. In addition, qualified students are eligible to receive grant assistance from the federal government. Financial assistance will vary, depending upon your need and the availability of funds.
For Additional information please log onto http://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/eof.htm.
