<p>So I just looked at my bill and where it once had a -$375 for the academic competitiveness grant (meaning deducted from my bill) it now has an additional $375 for the same thing added on. Meaning I got nothing from the ACG. It just happened like a day ago. It says that I got the money on my financial aid page and there is no reason that I should have it taken away. I think I fulfilled all of my requirements plus it seems like the school already got the money.</p>
<p>Any ideas why this would happen? Sorry there's not a lot of details but I am in the dark too.</p>
<p>ACG requires a particular set of coursework in high school. Some schools award the ACG based on your answer on the FAFSA that indicated you took a program of rigorous courses in high school — if they find that you did not meet the coursework criteria when they audit your transcript, they may remove the award — or if you were supposed to submit a final high school transcript with graduation date & did not do so, they may remove the award. We do it the other way around — we do not award the ACG until we review your transcript.</p>
<p>The most common thing that keeps students from getting the ACG is the requirement that students must take at least one year of foreign language in high school. The other thing that will keep students from getting the award is lack of required science courses (you must have one full credit of each of at least 2 of the following 3: biology, chemistry, physics).</p>
<p>Do either of the above scenarios apply to you?</p>
<p>Nope. 4 years of spanish, 3.5 science including bio and chem. My school said sent my transcript, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they did. The thing was it was already confirmed and in my account and all that. Not temporary so the funds were acually in there.</p>
<p>Well, my school has not even awarded the ACG money yet. I still have a $375 balance on my account and I’m getting nasty notices from the billing department.</p>
<p>When I inquire to the FA office I’m told they are working on it.</p>
<p>I wonder if your school is still in the process of awarding the monies?</p>
<p>Omg. They pulled it because I am a sophomore because of AP credits. Now, I don’t get the ACG for my freshmen year ($750) nor do I get it for my 1st semester of my sophomore year ($750) because I don’t have a GPA. </p>
<p>I am getting screwed out of money because I worked hard in high school basically. I am seriously about to cry because I am so frustrated. I don’t have the extra $750 to come up with because I didn’t know I was going to need to! I don’t want to sound whiney because I am grateful for what I got, but I am seriously furious.</p>
<p>I have not checked on this in a couple of years, but I do know it used to specifically refer to earned units, not AP units; maybe one of the current FA officers here can confirm it is still that way.</p>
<p>It is complicated to administer, so don’t panic yet, you may have gotten a newbie or student working on your file who just misunderstood.</p>
<p>he Academic Competitiveness Grant and SMART Grant program was created in the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2006, which became effective July 1, 2006. The program awards need-based Academic Competitiveness Grants to first- and second-year undergraduates who completed a rigorous high school curriculum, and SMART Grants to third- and fourth-year undergraduates majoring in certain technical fields or foreign languages deemed vital to national security. </p>
<p>I had a look on the rules for the ACG on my daughter’s school’s FA pages. It does say that it is possible to lose the first year grant because of recently-enacted federal legislation that has changed the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations that specify the way ACG eligibility is determined. It goes on to say that the changes may cause some students to be ineligible for all or part of either a first-year or second-year grant, or may delay receipt of the second-year grant but I can’t find any specific details. </p>
<p>Sounds like you may lose it. I am so sorry - that does seem very unfair. You need to go in and sit down with a FA officer and see if there is any other aid you might be eligible for that might replace it. For instance do you have the full Stafford loans ($5500 for a freshman) or work study. I know having to take out more loans is probably not what you want but it may be a way to get you through the current situation. Good luck.</p>
<p>This is from the UGA website and matches that of several other school I randomly checked.
Note the last sentence.</p>
<p>""The following information outlines the ACG student eligibility criteria that is effective with the 2009-10 Award Year. </p>
<p>Otherwise eligible students who have earned fewer than 30 semester hours are considered to be in their first year of undergraduate study and may receive up to the maximum $750 Federal ACG Scheduled Award (ACG-1).</p>
<p>Otherwise eligible students who have earned a minimum of 30 hours, but fewer than 60 semester hours are considered to be in their second year of undergraduate study and may receive up to the maximum $1,300 Federal ACG Scheduled Award (ACG-2). Once students have earned 60 semester credit hours they are no longer eligible for ACG consideration.</p>
<p>All hours earned at UGA and transfer credit hours accepted by the university (including AP, IB and Joint/Dual Enrollment) are counted in determining the total hours earned and in calculating the 30 hour 3.0 grade point average. Newly entering freshmen students especially need to be aware that the receipt of AP credit after they have been awarded ACG may result in their earned hours exceeding the above cited ranges and their ACG being cancelled. "</p>
<p>Yeah they just converted it into work-study (automatically). I am still going to fight it though. Not because I care about picking up an extra 3 hours a week or so, because that isn’t going to make or break me, but because it is ridiculous that an award that is supposed to encourage rigorous course loads is at the same time putting students that took VERY rigorous course loads at a severe disadvantage. I know that I am not the only one that this is affecting and it is ludicrous that we are essentially screwed out of $1500 because we worked really hard in high school and are starting above freshmen level. If I had known this I would have just not taken an additional AP test (as I self-studied about 7) and kept the money. Oy :(. Oh well, nothing I can do until Monday now.</p>
<p>I doubt there is any way to fight it I am afraid. It is not the school that sets the rules but the govt. The school is bound by the federal rules and can’t award money against those rules. Not much they can do. Do they give you any option to not take credit for one of the AP scores? And if they do would it be beneficial to you in the long run to not take the credit (ie would you have to retake and pay for the class which would cost more in the long run).</p>
<p>^ That is my second option. I am going to see if I can drop a transferred AP and just drop down to a freshmen. </p>
<p>And by fighting it, I meant writing letters and emails to whatever department (is it DOE?) that runs the ACG. It won’t do anything, but it will allow me to take my frustration out. I know the school can’t do anything because of federal rules. But maybe if there are enough letters from people like me then they will go back to the 1st year/2nd year rule. It could happen… (at least I can dream…)</p>
<p>OMG, that’s what I was looking for … I’m a second year but I don’t have an ACG either (I stand at 81 credits, but 30 of those are AP credits, and 13 of those are transfer credits.)</p>
<p>I feel cheated. </p>
<p>Maybe I should just flunk out of school. There’s no incentive for working hard.</p>
<p>This happened to my son almost two years ago. He was awarded the ACG and then they took it away second semester of his sophomore year in college. It was very discouraging as he was counting on the money.</p>
<p>I had been keeping close tabs on the ever changing SMART grant rules for the same reasons. Fortunately by the time my daughter was eligible for it they seemed to have managed to make them more sensible so a senior does not lose the SMART if they go over a certain # of credits. At one point the SMART grant rules meant a student became ineligible at 96 credits which might have represented 4 years of full time at 12 hours a semester but did not realistically reflect the # of credit hours most students take. (I know my daughter averages 15). Under the previous rules my daughter (and most students that take any more than minimum credit hours) would have been eligible for the SMART as a junior and lost is as a senior. Her major requires 127ish hours (quite apart from the occasional class in an unrequired subject she takes for pure interest ) so no way was she going to do 12 hours a semester! Under current rules she should get it Junior and Senior year (hopefully they don’t change it again!!).</p>
<p>Fortunately they seem to have adjusted the SMART rules sensibly but unfortunately seem to have messed up the ACG. I don’t think the people who set the rules are always experts on financial aid or college requirements or even seek input from those who are experts. That’s why it seems to take so long to iron the kinks out. And for ACG they seem to have messed it up badly.</p>
<p>I think you guys are looking at it from a “half empty” perspective. In reality, you likely received those 30 hours of college credit at very little or no cost, especially if you were eligible for fee reductions on the AP exams you took. Those hours should save you at least a full semester, perhaps even a year, of college where you are paying full tuition and residential costs and hopefully give you a head start on earning a full time salary. The loss of a year’s ACG is probably worth it if you think about it that way.</p>
<p>Sorry this came as a surprise to you though. I think we’ve had threads touching on this subject every few months but it’s easy to overlook the details of some of these programs. I mentioned it to my D when she was doing her course planning and she elected not to have her science credits transfer (as she’s a science major, AP credits would transfer only as electives). I think she’ll be running into the 60 credit hour limit by third semester anyway. but at least she’ll be eligible for a few semesters of ACG.</p>
<p>Anyway, good luck and let us know if the college was amenable to rescinding some of your AP credits - bet that’s not a request they get too often!</p>
<p>^^ Hopefully she will get the SMART grant instead SK8rmom. Eligibility for that starts at 60 hours. It is great having that extra $4000. My daughter has it this year so does not have WS, which she actually kind of misses, but she is hoping to get involved in more research now that time is freed up.</p>
<p>No such luck - she’s not in a major that’s SMART eligible! But that could change between now and then! So they automatically go from ACG to SMART even if they’re only in their second year? I thought SMART was only for years 3 and 4, but haven’t ever researched it much.</p>
<p>I think the SMART specifies Junior rather than third year. x Not sure though. On her school web site it says that the eligibility for the Junior year SMART requires 60 hours (which is what makes a Junior at her school). I though your daughter might qualify as you mentioned she was a science major. :(</p>
<p>When I posted my response last night, I was going to raise the question of AP credits. Yes, this is a new rule this year … ACG & SMART now run strictly on year-in-school. If you are a sophomore, you cannot get a freshman ACG. And you can only get a sophomore ACG if … at the time you first become a sophomore … you have at least a 3.0 gpa. So if you have sophomore standing due to AP credits, you don’t have a gpa … thus you do not meet the 3.0 gpa minimum rule. </p>
<p>And to make it worse, you will not get Year 2 after your first semester of school even if you are still a sophomore & even if you have a 3.0 or above. From the federal training slide I have: “Student entering as sophomore solely because of AP/IB credits, has no GPA and will not be eligible for second year ACG.” This is because the ACG rule is htat you must have at least a 3.0 at the START of your sophomore year. There is no mid-year recheck (as there is in SMART). In other words, you’ve lost $750 + $1300 = $2050.</p>
<p>Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Congress is responsible for federal aid regulations, so any complaints should be directed to your representatives in Washington.</p>