<p>Someone attending a community college. Could recieve $3700 from pheaa (state grant) and $5500 from fafsa. But the school only costs $3500 a year all included with books. That leaves a refund check of $5700, but how could this be possible. From what ive read whatever is left after the school takes their cut is refunded to the student. I cant beleive that this is a fact. Please clear this up for me.</p>
<p>Please clarify what you mean by fafsa. If the amount is $5500, that would be the federal student loan amount, loan, not free money.</p>
<p>okay, if it is all grant money. No student loans included. If the $9200 was all grant money. And $3500 was used, would a $5700 refund check be issued to the student?</p>
<p>Don’t know about your state award, but you cannot get federal funds above the actual cost of attendance.</p>
<p>So, if you’re awarded $9,200, and the school cuts you a refund check for $5,700, hang onto it. It may take a while, but the school will eventually figure out its mistake and you’ll have to give the money back. And, no, you won’t get a payment plan or any other kind of reasonable accommodation. Until it’s paid back, you don’t get to enroll for the following semester (or get any further federal funding).</p>
<p>Here is the situation, pretty much: Each school has what is called a Cost of Attendance, (COA) which is an official number, or numbers it provides to the government. That COA is the TOTAL ESTIMATED Cost to go to that school that year. The tuition, fees, room and board if you are at the school are fixed numbers, with estimated AVERAGES used for books, supplies, sundries, transportation. There can be different COAs the school uses for commuters vs those who live at the school vs those who live in a place of their own, not with parents,…OR some schools just use one COA, a one size fits all.</p>
<p>That COA, whatever, the school provides to the government is the MOST you can get in total in terms of government and other aid. The government (with certain PELL exceptions) will not permit you to get more aid or even merit money in many cases than that. So it isn’t so much just what was USED, but what that official COA is for the year for you at that school. </p>
<p>It is possible to get refunds from a school when you get the full COA or other large sum, and do not spend it all, or pay some of it out of pocket during the school year, as schools generally give zero refunds until after the drop day of classes, so students don’t abscond with the funds and then drop the courses. So many students have to pay their commuting costs, for books, their food, etc, etc, out of pocket even though they are entitled to aid covering those amounts. In such cases, the money is sitting in the school account and can be refund money that covers the COA. </p>
<p>So if you got $9200 in grant money, and your COA is at least $9200 or that amount is allowable under COA rules, then yes, if all you used was $3500 for tuiton, you would be entitled to a $5700 refund check to reimburse you for transportation, books, food, room, other expenses that are covered by the school’s official COA that it provides to the government. Be very, very careful that you are not running afoul of COA rules, because if you get the money and it is over COA, you likely won’t get aid from the government until you pay it back. It is YOUR responsibility, not the school’s or the government’s to make sure that you don’t spend money you are not entitled to get. There are kids on this board who are in that very situation. Spent the money,now owes it, and when you owe Uncle Sam, you get not a dime more until you pay up what you owe. So don’t whoop i up yet. Also, be aware that you may owe taxes on the money that you may have to pay for anything over tuition,books, nec supplies.</p>
<p>Re: the Pell grant…which is federally funded…if the student is entitled to the full amount, the student GETS the full amount, and very well could get a refund if the Pell award exceeds the cost of tuition.</p>
<p>The big question here is does the community college STATE grant get reduced because the student receives the Pell? If the state grant is an entitlement grant, like the Pell, it is very possible the student could receive a refund.</p>
<p>AND…this student should also check the cost of attendance for commuter students. There is usually an amount included in excess of the actual tuition cost to account for books/living/commuting expenses. The “refund” could very well be covering those costs.</p>
<p>You can get Pell no matter what the COA is. It’s an entitlement.</p>
<p>Mmmm. Not quite regarding the PELL and COA. It’s a bit more complicated than that if the COA exceeds the PELL itself, but I don’ t know how it works. Sybbie an Kelsmom might be able to tell us. </p>
<p>The thing is, many schools do have internal policies, as well, regarding integration of PELL with their own aid packages, so it’s difficult to get more than need anyways. That’s why the OP needs to find out exactly what he is permitted to get, as it seems a lot of those at the school are not all that familiar either a lot of the time, and if you need to pay back and you don’t have it, you can be up the creek in terms of the next year’s aid.</p>
<p>The Pell is an entitlement. The student is entitled to receive the whole amount to which they are entitled. And yes, sometimes they DO get refunds because of this.</p>
<p>The thing is, most,schools reduce their institutional need based aid if a student is Pell eligible. What we do NOT know is if this OPs state grant gets reduced IF he/she is Pell eligible. That needs to be found out by this poster…so they will know if they really are supposed to get a refund.</p>
<p>And again…do some checking regarding the cost of attendance for commuters. It likely includes some amount in addition to the tuition costs. Cost of attendance typically includes books, personal expenses, transportation. This amount for commuters should be available. If its not printed on the website, call the school and ask…then get it in writing.</p>
<p>Great responses, from what I’ve read from you guys, the total cost of attendance for a student commuting/not commuting is different. The pell grant will be used towards those costs of attendance first and also towards a book voucher if allowed by the school. The state grant is more than likely not granted because the cost of attendance is covered entirely by the Pell grant. Furthermore, if the state grant is awarded then it may be reduced substantially. Thanks for all your responses, they helped clear up all of my questions.</p>
<p>Here is the issue: because PELL is an entitlement, it does not get reduced by other awards. There are some COA ceilings that come into play with the amount of PELL a person can get, but I don’t know how they work. </p>
<p>However, your state grant might be integrated by PELL. That all depends on the terms and rules of the state grant. Just as most schools will reduce their aid packages by PELLaward amounts when the federal rules do not force them to do so, the state awards may also do the same. But, then again, they may not. </p>
<p>Also, there is no way for us to know what your specific school has as an official COA. Most schools do not give that info. FInancial aid will be able to tell you what it is, and as I said, it can differ from to school to school as to whether there are multiple COAs depending on circumstances or a one size fits all COA. Some schools will differentiate as to whether or not you are living at home with parents and commuting, or if you are living off campus with a friend and racking up expense that way, and still another COA number if on campus housing is provided. Those are individual situations.</p>
<p>It is correct that Pell is not reduced even if aid exceeds COA. Any OTHER federal aid would be off the table (SEOG, FWS, loans), but Pell gets paid out. Some schools with a very low COA will have a different Pell schedule than the norm, but the Pell schedule for that school can probably be found by searching on the school’s website (or calling the aid office to ask what the payment is at that particular EFC). Also, Pell is paid out based on number of credits, so you must have at least 12 credits in a semester to get the full amount (9-11 is 75% of the semester amount, and the semester amount = half the annual amount; 6-8 is 50%; 5 or fewer credits is 25%). Not sure if the state grant is reduced, so you’ll have to ask the school that questions.</p>