SNAP Eligibility Rules/Rights for College Students

College students continue to struggle with tuition costs and shrinking financial aid. Even with free community college in MA, which enables more low income students to enroll, many students are eligible for SNAP benefits but are not accessing them. This webpage gives you information on who is eligible and how to apply. Why is connecting low-income students with SNAP important?

• In its June 2024 report to Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that only 50% of otherwise eligible students received SNAP.

• A recent study published by the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Hospital in June of 2024 demonstrated that 44% of public university and community college students faced food insecurity at some point in 2023.

• A July 2021 report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) found that college students from food-insecure households are 43% less likely to graduate with an associate’s degree than students from food-secure households, with graduation rates even lower for first-generation students facing food insecurity. 

SNAP rules for students in Massachusetts: 

Most low-income Massachusetts students who meet the income and citizen/immigrant rules are SNAP eligible.. This includes students who:

• attend a community college or a post-secondary voc/tech school  
• were awarded work study and have not refused a work study job,
• receive MassGrant financial aid,
• receive TAFDC benefits or care for a child under age 12,
• have an impairment or disability,
• attend college through the Mass Rehab Commission (MRC)
• attend college through the SNAP Employment and Training Program and/or
• work 20 hours per week or more. 

Treatment of financial aid: 

DTA current and related policy guidance re SNAP and students:

• DTA's Online Guidance on SNAP student eligibility.