Help with professional judgment.

Paying for College
1

<p>I begin my A.A in engineering this Fall. I was denied the Pell Grant because I made too much money last year. This year I don't make as much so I'm requesting a professional judgment. I wrote a letter explaining the reasons for change in income, but I'm not good with making much sense in letters and I feel like I rambled on about stuff they don't really care about. </p>

<p>Please, I'm just asking for you to review my letter and give me some recommendations!</p>

<p>/////////////////////////////</p>

<p>To whom it may concern,</p>

<p>This letter is a medium to express my hope for the opportunity to be reconsidered concerning my Pell Grant. </p>

<p>Please find attached my last pay stubs for each individual employer and below I will briefly explain the reason for changes in employment.</p>

<p>In 2012 I had decided to finally continue my education and I began looking for a PART-TIME employer that would allow me to do so. Given the hours and nature of the job at Cheney Brothers, I was not able to attend school. On February 7th, 2012 I resigned my position at Cheney Brothers and on February 8th I began work at Gordon Food Service as a PART-TIME employee. </p>

<p>Consequently on March 6th I took the GED exam and passed with a 3100 score. I believe that I was able to achieve this score largely in part due to being able to attend CTAE classes. On May 14th I was awarded by the College of Central Florida an Outstanding Achievement Award presented to me by the mathematics teacher at CTAE.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, about 3 weeks into being an employee at GFS, they lost 4 employees. Given the nature of the business it was forced upon me to become a FULL-TIME employee. Since that would defeat the purpose of the reason I left CBI, I did not comply. These were not the initial conditions that I conceded to work for them. </p>

<p>Although I had already received my diploma, at this point I was still attending CTAE as I was studying for the P.E.R.T.</p>

<p>I resigned my position at GFS and immediately reported to Workforce Center, so that they may help me find a PART-TIME job. I set up an account with them, and they helped me make a resume. I began applying for open positions, one of them being a front desk position at Fairfield Inn.</p>

<p>I received a call from the General Manager and we set up an interview. In the interview she told me that the front desk position had been filled, but she had a breakfast position available and that in about a month, her front desk agent would be moving to Alaska and she would immediately have me transferred to the front desk. On May, 16th, 2012 the aforementioned employee left, and they hired a new front desk person, and I was left at the breakfast. Again, not the conditions I original discussed during per-employment, so I resigned my position with them.</p>

<p>I feel very strongly about a persons word must be kept. In both situation of new employment, they blatantly disregarded the initial conditions we discussed for employment. </p>

<p>Currently I am unemployed, but I'm actively seeking employment. I have made an appointment with Mr. X, the director for the EOC, in respect to work-study, or employment with X.</p>

2

<p>i think it sounds good. but i would just summarize why you left instead of giving so many details. but i think if you choose to send it like this, it still sounds great.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think it sounds good.</p>

<p>First, since it is about pell, your letter is not going to change anything, since those are federal funds governed by specific laws.</p>

<p>Second, if you want to write a letter to ask for school specific funds, you should summorize your situation and omit your life history.</p>

4

<p>^^^^</p>

<p>Totally agree. Letter is too long. I fell asleep reading it. Get to the point. Lerkin is right, Pell is according to Federal law. No PJ is possible.</p>

5

<p>Your letter is more a criticism of your employer, and an excuse for quoting your job, than a request for a special circumstances consideration. Personally I don’t see anything in your letter that would trigger a professional judgement.</p>

<p>Eligibility for the Pell is determined by your FAFSA EFC. Yes, sometimes financial aid officers can make a professional judgement that can lower that…but truthfully, I don’t see anything in your letter that would do so. You sound like you are saying that the school should grant you additional aid because it’s not your fault you had to work more hours…at least that’s how it reads to me.</p>

6

<p>yes, the letter is waaay too long.</p>

<p>Why not just say something like…</p>

<p>I’m requesting professional judgement for a decrease in my EFC because although my income was X for 2011, it will be much lower for 2012 because I’m only working part-time because I’m now attending college full time. After working 6 months in 2012, I’ve only earned XXXX, so my projected earnings for the entire year will be YYYYY.</p>

7

<p>Thanks guys. A written statement along with documentation proving a lower income for 2012 is required. I understand I wrote too much in the letter, which is why I stated in the introduction that I felt I provided too much info that they don’t care about. Thanks for all your suggestions and I will be using @mom2collegekids example for my written statement.</p>

8

<p>@mom2collegekids</p>

<p>New letter…</p>

<p>To whom it may concern,</p>

<p>This letter is a medium to express my hope for the opportunity to be reconsidered concerning my financial aid.</p>

<p>I’m requesting professional judgment for a decrease in my EFC because although my income was $25,889.48 for 2011, it will be much lower for 2012. I’m only working part-time since I’ve been attending CTAE full-time and I’ll now be attending CF full time. After working 6 months in 2012, I’ve only earned $8,247.35, and my projected earnings for the entire year will be $13,244.67.</p>

<p>Please find attached my most current pay stubs for each individual employer.</p>

<p>Sincerely,
Xx Xx</p>

9

<p>Chris,</p>

<p>I know you did not ask me, but I would delete the first sentence. It is not necessary. </p>

<p>P.S. Brevity IS a sister of wit!</p>

10

<p>@lerkin</p>

<p>Thanks, I will remove the first sentence as it isn’t necessary.</p>

11

<p>The whole crux of the matter is that you have gone from full time to part time and you need professional judgment to be made for you to be considered a dislocated worker, reducing your EFC.</p>

<p>I would PM Kelsmom who was someone who actually made such determinations for advice on this. Reduction in pay and/or income is not what allows someone to become a dislocated worker for these purposes, from what I have gathered. It’s the loss of a job or hour making one part time, that is what is relevant. The guidelines are federal and there is not a whole lot of play in whether they are met or not. It’s when they are met that the professional judgement come into the picture. From what I have read, even total job loss to zero income, does not mean that you fall into a dislocated worker category. There is a time stipulation involved as well. Since you are getting some income, I don’t know whether you will be considered PELL eligible so quickly. But then I don’t know the ins and outs of all of this. You do need to know the key phrases and points to bring up for your situation, since pushing the right buttons will expedite the matter. Good luck.</p>

12

<p>@cptofthehouse</p>

<p>I will PM Kelsmom, but could you clarify one thing for me? As far as the reason being a change in income, you MUST BE considered a dislocated worker to be considered for a professional judgment?</p>

13

<p>As a single person with no dependents, with an income of $13k, your EFC is still going to be significant…may still be too high for Pell. </p>

<p>The assumption is that you get a small exemption and then the rest of your income is supposed to go towards COA.</p>

<p>What is the COA for this community college? It sounds like your EFC may still be higher than what the school costs.</p>

14

<p>@mom2collegekids</p>

<p>The COA for CF is $16,138.
NOTE: Tuition/Fees are subject to change.</p>

<p>I’m an independent student and I’m single with no children.</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>FAFSA definition of dislocated worker</p>

<p>

</a></p>

<p>Op would not be considered a dislocated worker because s/he has wilfully quit a number of jobs.</p>

16

<p>The dislocated worker designation is not relevant in this case. Dislocated worker is one factor used for determining eligibility for the automatic 0 EFC, but to be eligible for the auto 0 EFC and independent student must have a dependent other than a spouse. This poster does not.</p>

<p>To be eligible for any pell grant, your EFC must be less than around 4617 ish. It does not matter how much the school costs. Pell is based solely on the EFC. Max Pell is $5550 for a 0 EFC, whether a school costs $6,000 or $50,000. Once your EFC exceeds the cut off, you are not eligible for any Pell, no matter what the COA of the school is.</p>

17

<p>Thank you all for all the information you have provided me with. I’ve decided not to continue with the professional judgment.</p>

<p>Thanks,
Chris712</p>

18

<p>Chris, I don’t think anyone is saying you shouldn’t pursue it. I certainly wasn’t and I’m sorry if I gave that impression. Loss of income is definitely a reason to ask for a professional judgement. It may or may not reduce your EFC to where you are eligible for some grant money, but it is worth a try. I think if they do grant a professional judgement and base it on your projected income, your EFC *might *in fact be low enough for a partial Pell grant. It is definitely worth trying. The worst they can say is no. Good luck.</p>

19

<p>Chris, the one thing to remember…your financial aid for the 2012-2013 school year was based on your 2011 earnings. Your aid for the 2013-2014 school year will be based on 2012.</p>

<p>It’s worth talking to the school to see if there is any more aid available to you…even if you are not considered a dislocated worker.</p>

20

<p>Thanks, thumper1</p>

<p>The federal loan of $9,500 will cover my tuition and books for fall and spring. Next year I will re-apply to see if I qualify for any grants based on this years earnings.</p>