If you’re a college student and something unexpected hits your budget, a car repair, a medical bill, a sudden gap in food or rent money, your own school may already have money set aside to help. These funds rarely get advertised, so a lot of students never find out they exist until it’s too late.
A Real Example at UMass Amherst
At UMass Amherst, the Student Care Emergency Fund offers microgrants of up to $500 per grant, with a lifetime cap of $1,000 across up to two grants during a student’s time there.
The money doesn’t need to be repaid, and it’s meant for one-time emergencies, not tuition or regular monthly bills.
To qualify, students need to be currently enrolled, have room left in their FAFSA cost of attendance, and have no outstanding balance with the university.
It’s Not Just UMass
- Ohio University’s Student Emergency Fund offers microgrants of up to $500 per academic year for things like medical bills, utilities, food, temporary housing, and childcare, for students enrolled at least half-time and who’ve already looked into other financial resources first (ohio.edu).
- Cornell’s Graduate School runs its own emergency fund specifically for graduate students facing unexpected financial hardship.. This fund can provide grants of up to $500 also.
Every school sets its own rules about award amounts, eligible expenses, and how often you can apply, so what one school covers, another might not.
How Do You Find Your School’s Fund?
Most schools don’t put this front and center on their homepage, so here’s where to actually look:
- Search “[your school name] student emergency fund” or “[your school name] microgrant.”
- Check your Dean of Students office. These funds are very often run out of that office rather than financial aid.
- Ask your school’s basic needs center or food pantry, if it has one. Staff there usually know about every emergency resource on campus, even ones that aren’t well publicized.
- Call financial aid directly and ask if the school has any emergency or hardship grant funds separate from regular financial aid.
- Check with your student government or student affairs office, since some emergency funds are actually funded and run by students themselves.
Relief Recap
These funds solve exactly the kind of short-term, one-time emergency that can derail a semester, and most students never think to ask if their own school has one.
If you’re a low income student looking for more ways to fund your education beyond emergencies, our master list of scholarships for low income students is a great next stop.
