Agg loan limit/pell eligibility

Paying for College
1

<p>I am literally 4 classes away from my BA. I have reached my aggregate stafford limit and can no longer receive loans.</p>

<p>I just completed my FAFSA and I am eligible this year for a PELL grant because of some family changes. </p>

<p>I contacted my school and they said it would not be an issue but I just want to ask others.. Will me reaching my LOAN limit affect my eligibility for my first time pell grant? </p>

<p>I am literally looking just for enough aid to finish my schooling and this could help me reach my goals... I've read both saying it will and will NOT affect eligibility so I'm very confused. My state is FL if this helps.. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Does anyone have any info on this topic??</p>

3

<p>Loan limits and Pell eligibility are two separate things. I have never heard that one effects the other. What is making you think it would?</p>

4

<p>I read somewhere that federal law now prohibits you from getting a pell grant if you have reached aggregate stafford limits… But that is why I wanted opinions to double check this info </p>

5

<p>

Where? See <a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/grants-scholarships/pell”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/grants-scholarships/pell&lt;/a&gt;

</p>

6

<p>You absolutely can receive Pell even if you are at your loan limit. I have a question, though … are any of the loans you received attributed to additional unsubsidized loans due to Parent PLUS denials?</p>

7

<p>No, my parents won’t apply or consign thanks to my older sibling’s financial mishaps :/</p>

8

<p>@kelsmom, if a student receives loans attributed to additional unsubsidized loans due to Parent PLUS denials, will that have an effect on the aggregate stafford limit before the student reaches their fourth year of college?</p>

9

<p>The loans that are attributed to the additional unsub due to Parent PLUS denial do not count toward the $31,000 dependent undergrad loan limit. If a student goes over $31,000 total undergrad loans, the financial aid officer has to manually check the loans, determine how much was attributed to additional unsub due to PLUS denials, and determine actual eligibility. There is a notification that the aid office receives in the processed FAFSA transmission that alerts them to manually review the loans. Sometimes this does get missed, so if a student is denied loans and knows that some were due to additional unsub due to PLUS denial, he should talk to the aid office. This often happens in automated systems when the student is not actually over the limit, but is close enough that he can’t get the full amount - this will result in an automatically packaged award that does not take the additional unsub into account. </p>

<p>Also, if a student really does exceed the $31,000, and if the parent applies for and is denied a PLUS loan, the student can actually borrow unsub at the independent limit for year in school - all as additional unsub due to PLUS denial.</p>

10

<p>Great info, thanks!</p>