What the teller most likely said (IMO) is if the check isn’t deposited within 6 months the student would have to go back to ask for a new check to be issued.
Just realized @austinmshauri said the same thing.
OP, are you in college? Just checking to be sure that you are actually enrolled, because if you are not full-time, it is possible that the government might ask for some of your Pell grant back. I think that’s the only time they can do that, if it is disbursed (paid to you) based on fulltime enrollment and then you drop back to less than 12 credits. But if you’re taking 12 credits or more, then you get to keep the money, and as others have said, if you have some left when you fill out next year’s FAFSA, you won’t include that as an asset.
I would keep the check stub or a photocopy of check as proof that the money in the bank account is from a financial aid refund.
See post #16 from swimcatsmom on above linked thread.
I recently suggested to a young cousin off to college that she write a thank you note to her boss from her summer job (who really went above and beyond as a supervisor) since that’s the kind of thing that people remember if/when she needs a job over Xmas vacation or next summer) and the cousin said, “what a great idea” and I told a little story of how touched I was to get a note in the mail from a former employee and the young woman looked panic-stricken and said, “you mean send an actual letter- like through the mail?”
I said-" yeah- an actual note" and she looked mournful and said, “But then I’d need to go buy a stamp”.
Generational indeed! I told her she could print a stamp/bar code off the postal service website and she looked skeptical…