Maryland student and vocational grants: Guaranteed Access, EA Grant, Promise and WIOA (2026-27)

GA or EA: how Maryland’s March 1 data decides your grant

Sources: MHEC GA and EA program pages and FAQs ⁠¹⁠²⁠³. Both awards depend on available funds, and the college must certify enrollment before money is paid ⁠².

Both grants require in-state tuition eligibility and no prior bachelor’s degree ⁠¹⁠³. You can hold one or the other, never both. Once you have accepted an EA Grant, you can never be moved to GA, even if your family income later falls ⁠². Plan for this when you file. Your first FAFSA or One-App should report income correctly, because that award fixes your track for every later year.

Guaranteed Access in 2026-27: the 130% test, the age-26 rule and renewal at 150%

GA has no high school GPA requirement. GED holders need a score of at least 145 on each module ⁠²⁠¹. A change for 2026-27 opens GA to students who are already in college and working on a first undergraduate degree, as long as they have never received an EA Grant ⁠². Students who once received the campus-based CBEAG can still be considered ⁠².

GA is renewable for up to three more years. Renewal applicants face a looser income test of 150% of the 2024 poverty guidelines, or they can stay eligible by remaining Pell-eligible ⁠¹:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Add $8,070 for each person beyond eight ⁠¹.

Renewal has strict rules. Enrollment must be continuous and full time, and a semester off ends the grant ⁠². Starting in the third award year, you must have completed 30 credits in the prior year to keep the full award. Completing 24 to 29 credits gets you a prorated award, and fewer than 24 ends it. This count is based on the years you have held the award, not your class standing ⁠². If you lose GA and do not win an appeal, you cannot get it back later. You may still be considered for EA ⁠².

The EA Grant: Maryland’s grant for everyone else with need

The EA Grant pays $400 to $3,000 a year for up to four years. MHEC calculates it automatically for FAFSA and One-App filers who meet the basic rules ⁠³. The same 30-credit rule and the 24-to-29-credit proration apply from the third award year ⁠³. EA can be used out of state only by deaf or hard-of-hearing students whose school offers services that Maryland colleges do not ⁠³.

Some filers must upload documents through MDCAPS by August 1. Dependent One-App filers send a parent signature page. Male One-App filers 18 or older send proof of Selective Service registration, which is due June 1, 2027, and no money is paid until it arrives. FAFSA filers whose family size is missing send a verification form ⁠³. GA applicants can also be asked for GED transcripts, proof of independent status, or 2024 tax transcripts or signed 1040s ⁠¹. MHEC says document reviews take 4 to 5 weeks on average. You then have two weeks after the award email to accept in MDCAPS, or the offer is cancelled ⁠².

Missed March 1 or enrolled part time: CBEAG and the Part-Time Grant

If your FAFSA arrived after March 1, you can no longer get GA or EA unless you win a Late FAFSA/MHEC One-App appeal. For 2026-27 that appeal closed July 1, 2026 ⁠⁹. Your fallback is the Campus-Based Educational Assistance Grant. It is for full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates who filed after the deadline and are Pell-eligible. You apply through your college’s aid office ⁠⁴. It pays 40% of adjusted need at four-year schools and 60% at community colleges, with a range of $400 to $3,000. All state awards together cannot exceed your cost of attendance or $28,000, whichever is lower ⁠⁴. Renewal is not guaranteed ⁠⁴.

Students taking 3 to 11 credits a semester use the Part-Time Grant. MHEC gives the money to colleges, and they choose the recipients. Awards range from $200 to $2,000 a year for up to eight years ⁠⁵. You and, if you are dependent, your parents must be Maryland residents. File the FAFSA or One-App by March 1 and ask your school for its own deadline ⁠⁵.

Promise Scholarship at your county’s community college

The Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship is a last-dollar award of up to $5,000. It covers the tuition and mandatory fees left after federal and state grants ⁠⁶. It covers more than degree programs. You can use it for credit certificates and associate degrees (at least 6 credits a semester), for credit or non-credit course sequences that lead to licensure or certification, and for registered apprenticeships ⁠⁶. High school applicants need an unweighted 2.3 GPA. Current community college students need a 2.5 college GPA. Applicants who finished high school five or more years ago do not have to submit a high school transcript ⁠⁶. Income caps are $100,000 in adjusted gross income for single applicants or single-parent households and $150,000 for married applicants or two-parent households ⁠⁶. You must attend the community college in your county or region (Wor-Wic, Chesapeake and the College of Southern Maryland serve multi-county regions). The exception is a program your local college does not offer ⁠⁶.

As of October 20, 2026, MHEC’s link for 2026-27 still opens a page that describes the 2025-26 cycle. That page lists an April 1, 2026 filing deadline and uses 2023 tax-year income ⁠⁶. Ask your college’s aid office which deadline and tax year apply to you. Students in non-credit continuing education courses also file a Promise Non-Credit Application in MDCAPS, and its deadline is rolling ⁠⁶. Documents go to the college, not to MDCAPS ⁠⁶.

Non-credit and career-school grants: Workforce Development Sequence and Tolbert

The Workforce Development Sequence Scholarship pays up to $2,000 a year for an approved non-credit sequence at a participating community college. Qualifying sequences lead to an apprenticeship, a job, licensure or job-skill upgrades ⁠⁷. It covers only tuition, fees and related costs that other state or employer money has not paid. It can be combined with other state awards up to that total, and a second sequence may be funded later ⁠⁷. Maryland residents, Maryland high school graduates and active-duty military members stationed or living in Maryland can apply through the college aid office ⁠⁷.

At approved private career schools, such as cosmetology or trade schools, the Jack F. Tolbert Memorial Student Grant pays up to $500 to full-time students. This grant defines full time as at least 18 clock hours a week. Applicants must be Maryland residents (for dependents, the parent too), file the FAFSA, and apply at the school ⁠⁸. Applications are rolling, and the grant can be renewed once ⁠⁸.

Pell and Workforce Pell in Maryland: no approved programs yet

The federal Pell Grant runs from $740 to $7,395 for 2026-27, and it is subtracted before MHEC calculates GA or EA need ⁠¹³⁠³. Workforce Pell pays for programs of 8 to 14 weeks and 150 to 599 clock hours, and people who already hold a bachelor’s degree can receive it. Direct Loans and work-study are not available for these programs, but WIOA funding can be added ⁠¹⁴. In Maryland, the Governor’s Workforce Development Board (GWDB) certifies programs for the governor. Schools apply on the Maryland Workforce Exchange, and state decisions come out in August, November, February and May ⁠¹⁰. A program must already have run for a year with 70% completion and 70% job placement ⁠¹⁰. As of October 20, 2026, GWDB says its list of approved programs will be posted once the first programs have both state and U.S. Department of Education approval ⁠¹⁰. Ask your college whether a short program has applied before counting on this money.

WIOA training accounts through Maryland’s 13 local workforce boards

Maryland’s WIOA money for adults and dislocated workers is managed by 13 local workforce development boards. Examples include the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development in Baltimore City, the Lower Shore board for Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester, and the Western Maryland Consortium ⁠¹². Each board runs American Job Centers ⁠¹². An Individual Training Account pays only for a program on the Maryland Eligible Training Provider List. You can search that list by occupation, school or location and see tuition, program length and the credential earned ⁠¹¹. Maryland does not publish one statewide ITA cap. Federal rules let each board set its own dollar and time limits. They also limit WIOA money to people whose other grants, including Pell, fall short of covering training ⁠¹⁵. Ask your board for its current cap.

Filing for 2027-28 in Maryland, step by step

1. Choose your form

   Citizens and eligible non-citizens file the 2027-28 FAFSA. Undocumented students who qualify for in-state tuition file the MHEC One-App in MDCAPS instead ⁠¹.

2. List a Maryland college and beat March 1, 2027

   MHEC considers only applications on file by March 1 with a Maryland school listed ⁠¹⁠⁵.

3. Create your MDCAPS account

   Check “Check Application Status” for document requests, and upload only what is requested ⁠².

4. Accept within two weeks

   After the award email, accept in MDCAPS or the offer lapses. Payments reach your college after it certifies enrollment, usually from September for fall ⁠².

5. Apply locally for college-run grants

   Ask the aid office about CBEAG, the Part-Time Grant, Promise documents, Workforce Development Sequence or Tolbert ⁠⁴⁠⁵⁠⁶⁠⁷⁠⁸.

6. For short-term job training, visit an American Job Center

   Pick a program on the ETPL and ask about the board’s ITA cap ⁠¹¹⁠¹⁵.

7. Appeal on time

   MHEC accepts appeals for income loss, late filing, a fifth year and credit shortfalls during set windows. It decides within 45 business days, and late appeals are denied ⁠⁹.