The enacted $1.9 trillion relief package has entitled self- supporting students paying more than half of their expenses to receive $1,400 in stimulus checks. This denotes that those shouldering half or less than half of their college expenses are still classified as parent-dependent students and there fore not entitled to the stimulus checks. In such cases, parents or guardians whose income are below the threshold prescribed as a condition for eligibility will be entitled to the $1.4k stimulus relief.
Actually, parents or guardians deemed eligible to receive the stimulus check will receive upmto $1,400 for every dependent child, which they could spend the way they see fit.
What Other Benefits are Available to Independent, Self-Supporting Students?
An independent student is one who files his or her own income tax return annually, even if occasionally asking for financial assistance from his or her parents or guardians. Aside from the stimulus checks, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan provides other measures that have direct financial impact on college such unemployment insurance and child tax credits.
Indirectly, both independent and dependent college students will benefit from the nearly $40 billion funds allocated to colleges and universities, as half of the funds will be set up as emergency financial aid for students, while the remaining will make way for student debt cancellation.
What Does the American Rescue Plan Mean for the Education Sector
As much as $170 billion of the American Rescue Plan will be allotted specifically to state colleges and universities. The funds will be doled out in the form of endowments to target schools and to a large number of Pell Grant recipients. The recipient schools will then award the endowments to students who have been struggling with their college education due to the pandemic. Students looking to be considered for thr endowments and other financial aid should submit their FAFSA for this school year, since college administrators will be leafing through FAFSA applications.