<p>I have been going to school for about 4 years now, and am going for a degree in Computer Science (CS). I have 1.5 to 2 years left because I started college not knowing what I wanted to major in (and therefore took some classes worthless for this degree), and because for the most part I took the minimum full-time requirement (12 credit hours) per semester.</p>
<p>I would like to get the SMART grant (which is for 3rd or 4th year students), but I don't know how they determine if you're in your 3rd or 4th year. As far as progress in my CS degree, I am only a junior - but by number of credits I am considered a senior.</p>
<p>To the meat of my question: the financial aid office has denied me of the SMART grant on the grounds that it is limited to 96 credit hours (I have 112). That seems all well and good, until you realize that a CS degree from my university requires 130 credits - and if you follow the uni's model schedule of classes for CS, you end up with 100 credits at the start of your senior year! That means that if I were to follow the plan laid out to me by the school, I would only receive the grant for my junior year...</p>
<p>Is the financial aid office jerking me around?</p>
<p>For the Smart Grant, grade level is determined solely by the institution. It doesn't matter whether the credits earned are considered useless for the degree. They look at your total credits earned and compare that to their pre-determined grade level "chart". They also take into consideration the number of years a student has been enrolled in college...regardless of the degree sought. Typically, you would be considered a 5th year student this fall, as you have already completed 4 years in college. I have many students (mostly military) who transfer in to begin their Bachelor's degree with over 140 credits...and our Bachelor's degree only requires 123 credits. They are considered 4th year students...even if it is their 1st year in college.</p>
<p>That makes sense. But I was not denied on the premise I am a fifth year student, I was denied by a 96 credit hour limit. Had I followed the university's endorsed plan for the degree, I would be denied the grant for my senior year. That goes against the purpose of the grant. Surely the financial aid department must be under some kind of scrutiny from a higher power to ensure fair distribution according to the grant's intent.</p>
<p>If I was the financial aid department head and started denying women grants, I have no doubt there would be someone there to ream me. Obviously my situation is not so nefarious, but where is the line drawn?</p>
<p>From what I have read the SMART grant rules are very complicated and cause financial aid departments a lot of trouble trying to interpret them. I believe this year the government has adjusted them somewhat to make them a bit easier for the schools to figure out what they are doing and to bring them more into line with the normal credit hours at schools. I know previous to the changes once you reached 96 hours you were no longer eligible - this was based on the rules as written by the federal govt - not the school trying to gip you in any way. (I assume the rules were based on the minimum credit hours for full time being 12 hours a semester so by the time you reached 96 you would have done 4 years - but that is just a guess on my part). </p>
<p>But I believe the rules have been adjusted to be more in line with the reality of the number of hours most students take. According to the new rules posted for my daughters school</p>
<p>
[quote]
• The maximum award amount for eligible students who have completed between 60 and 93 credit hours* is $4,000.
• The maximum award amount for eligible students who have completed between 94 and the maximum number of hours* required for their degree is $4,000.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So at my daughter's school you would be ineligible for the '3rd year' grant because you are over 93 hours but would possibly be eligible for the 4th year grant. However your school may have different guidelines based on their 'normal' hours for 3rd & 4th year students. The best thing is to go in and talk to a financial aid person (one of the senior ones) and ask if the change in rules might affect your eligibility favorably. As you will actually be in your 5th year of school you may not be eligible as the SMART grant specifically says it is for 3rd and 4th year students only but it is worth asking. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hmm... well I do think it should be inspected a little more, especially since the grant is for people in degrees that are notoriously longer and more difficult. But I suppose I can be assuaged by the fact that were I eligible a few years ago, I could have gotten this grant for my 2nd and 3rd years of school instead of 3rd and 4th.</p>