<p>Well I did take all my exams on fee waiver, but I’m not graduating early because I’m going into interdisciplinary majors (p-chem / MSE and neuroscience). I took an honors series sequence, so AP credit in math and science helped my understanding but didn’t give me any “head start” in terms of sequence. So I still have to go through all 4 years. AP credit just makes it easier to dual-major and I still won’t get to take some of the 400 and 500-level courses I want to take eventually.</p>
<p>Yes, new rules specify school grade level. SMART Year 3 is for junior year; Year 4 is for senior year. If student is in Year 3 but doesn’t quite make senior the next year, she will not be eligible for SMART that term (although she may be if she didn’t carry a fulltime course load the first junior year - because she can get 100% of the Year 3 award). </p>
<p>There are several different scenarios that can cause a student to lose a semester’s payment, a year’s payment, or even all payments (ACG).</p>
<p>Romanigypsyeyes … and others who lost Year 1 ACG eligibility due to AP/IB credits putting you in sophomore standing: There is a loophole. If you took any college courses in high school (such as dual enrollment courses) and you have ANY college grades for courses you are transferring in … you can use the grades you received for course/courses transferred in to qualify you for the Year 2 as long as the grade average is 3.0 or above.</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom, there is a time period during which financial aid folks & all others are able to make comment on proposed rulemaking. It just doesn’t always make any difference!</p>
<p>Currently, it is the comment period for proposed rulemaking for year round Pell (among other issues). The YRP rules are so confusing, and the monitoring required makes it a very manual process. I will comment, but I doubt it will change anything.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! My D’s pre-pharmacy so if she stay’s on track there will be no “senior” year …they’re only considered undergrads for the first 3 years at her school.</p>
<p>This seems way too complicated for such a small amount of ACG money! I know, it seems like alot for the student, but just don’t sweat it. Try to be glad for the larger grants that are available to you and forget about those you can’t qualify for. These seem to be targeted toward a slightly different profile than yours…perhaps students without as much access to AP’s or dual enrollment.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, does this mean that a student who starts their second year ACG-eligible, but then reaches/exceeds 60 credit hours in the first semester, will still be eligible for the second semester (year 2) ACG?</p>
<p>I found a presentation where it said the ACG and SMART will be available through 2010-2011 and then the programs will end. Hope that is true. Not the ending part, but that if it is ending it will be after 2010-2011. Fingers crossed. Good to be aware in advance that it might be unavailable though.</p>
<p>I think you may be correct … it may be after next year. Next year was probably wishful thinking on my part! They are really difficult programs to administer.</p>
<p>REALLY? Yes I actually took 2 courses at my community college and got 4.0s in both! That transferring is actually what put me over (well, actually exactly AT) the limit. So even though my GPA doesn’t transfer (just the credit), I can still use my ACG because I had a 4.0 at the previous college?</p>
<p>And I wish I was majoring in something SMART eligible :(. I am, however, seriously considering the TEACH grant (if they even still have that) in the future. </p>
<p>My next option is I am going to get rid of AP credit for Stats. It is only 3 credits and definitely NOT a course I need lol.</p>
<p>And graduating early, unfortunately, is not an option. My major requires 4 years because it requires study away/abroad and I won’t have enough language experience to do that for another 3 years (so the summer between my 3rd and fourth year) and then I have to come back and do a language post seminar that semester and my senior thesis the following semester. Yeah, it sucks but it is kind of forcing me to double major and get a specialization in that extra time :)</p>
<p>Kelsmom, does this mean that a student who starts their second year ACG-eligible, but then reaches/exceeds 60 credit hours in the first semester, will still be eligible for the second semester (year 2) ACG?</p>
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<p>No. There is no mid-year gpa recheck … there IS a check for class standing. If 60 credits defines junior level at a particular school, then the student becomes ineligible once she has 60 credits. So if she gets ACG2 one semester but then is classified as a junior at the end of that semester, she is no longer eligible for ACG2.</p>
<p>Romanigypsyeyes, please talk to the ACG program administrator at your school. The grades for those classes will allow you to receive your ACG2. This is new, so there is a learning curve. The program administrator will know the regs & be able to reinstate your award if you do have a 4.0 from transfer credits. The same slide I reference from the webinar also says: “Student entering as sophomore with combination of AP/IB and dual enrollment credits - dual enrollment credits have grades so could be eligible for second year ACG.” This was federal training, so it is the real deal (US DOE Reauthorization Webinar, May 2009). The “could be” means student must have at least a 3.0 gpa from the dual enrollment grades.</p>
<p>Shoot, even if I drop that one class, I’ll still be at 61 credits at the end of this year :(. (25+18+18=61). Plus, “sophomore” at my school is 28-55 credits, so I’ll be much into my junior year by the time this year is over.</p>
<p>kelsmom I am going to. Thank you for all your help guys!</p>
<p>Wait … you have how many credits coming in … 25? That is still freshman, right? You can get Year 1 this semester. If you get at least a 3.0 this semester, and if you do earn 18 credits, you will be eligible for Year 2 second semester. But you will lose the second half of Year 2 if you earn 18 credits during your second semester.</p>
<p>No I have 28. That makes me a sophomore at my school. If I dropped the stats credit I would only have 25. I am going to figure out how to drop one of my classes next semester, but it’s gonna be hard.</p>
<p>Oh - just realized you probably meant if you dropped the 3 credits. Let’s see … if you keep those, you are eligible for Year 2 first semester. You would have 46 credits second semester so will be eligible for Year 2 second semester, too. So you’d get $1300 this way instead of $375 + $650 if you drop classes.</p>
That extra $4k in grant money was pretty sweet!</p>