SEOG Funds

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the distribution of Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) funds based on the allocation of student financial aid from federal, state, local, and institutional sources.

GAO tabulated 1983 through 1984 student financial aid survey data from several higher education associations, and found that: (1) the funds did not appear to be concentrated on students from lower income categories; (2) SEOG funds were awarded to students in all income categories, from the highest to the lowest; and (3) SEOG funds distribution patterns for independent students were very similar across the four school groups studied. GAO also found that: (1) for dependent students, SEOG recipients were found among both higher and lower income categories; (2) in private schools, funds targeted to dependent students were distributed equally across income categories; (3) in public schools, SEOG funds were targeted more towards the lower income students; and (4) in private, historically black schools and proprietary schools, SEOG funds were concentrated in the lower income categories but not to the exclusion of the higher income students.