I lost out on $1500 (Academic Competitiveness Grant)...anything I can do?

Paying for College
1

<p>For the 2009-2010 school year, I received an Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). I was eligible because I received high scores in state standardized tests (California STAR test).</p>

<p>Now, it looks like I won't be getting my second year's ACG, which can be up to $1500. The financial aid office at my school (Los Angeles City College) is telling me that to qualify for a second year, I must have had completed 30 units at LA City College with at least a 3.0 GPA. I don't meet this requirement because the first 26 units I completed were at another college, outside LA City College's district. I have completed around 34 units so far with a 4.0 GPA but I don't qualify because the majority of these credits were completed at another college.</p>

<p>When I go look at the ACG requirements on studentaid.ed.gov, it does not say anything about a minimum unit requirement for a 2nd year grant. Is my college allowed to make restrictions on ACG based on units (and college where units are completed)? Or is this restriction buried somewhere in some kind of federal document? Do you HAVE to stay at the college where you got the first year's ACG to get a second year's ACG? Basically, is there anything I can do at this point?</p>

2

<p>The maximum 2nd year ACG is $1300, not $1500.</p>

<p>

Yes, the school is required to determine whether you are eligible for the ACG based on whether you are classified at that school as a sophomore. If you have too few credits (or too many) then you can be ineligible for the ACG. (a lot of students found they lost eligibility for ACG because they had too many credits with APs etc). Did all you credits transfer and are you classified as a sophomore?</p>

3

<p>I’m not sure…I entered LA City College with 26.5 units, finished 15 units, now I have 48.5 total units (some units pass/no-pass). My total university transferrable units as of this Spring semester is around 34-ish, so I guess I am currently a sophomore. </p>

<p>I never did an official transferring procedure…all I did was hand in transcripts to the Counseling office to waive English and Math prerequisites. Does that count, or is there some kind of procedure I need to do?</p>

4

<p>ACG is being cut next year. :(</p>

5

<p>Yes…I know. Sucks, so I’m trying to figure out if there is any possibility of obtaining my 2nd year ACG. Hmmm…</p>

<p>Technically, I entered LA City College as a freshman (26.5 units completed)…maybe I’m eligible to get a first-year’s grant, again? During my first year of college I was part-time for the first semester, so I didn’t get a full first-year’s ACG. Can I try to claim a first-year’s grant?</p>

<p>Also…this might be a “derp” question…but maybe I can get my 2nd year ACG from my old college? Or do I HAVE to enrolled at their school to get a 2nd year’s grant…which is probably the case but it never hurts to ask…</p>

6

<p>Not only this, but National SMART Grant is cut too. :(</p>

7

<p>If you did not receive 100% of your first year ACG award ($750) already, and if you are still a freshman (or were in the fall), you would be eligible for the amount of first year ACG that you had not yet used. You can receive the fall ACG retroactively (based on the number of credits completed in fall).</p>

<p>If you became a sophomore this term, you would be eligible for 2nd year ACG IF your cumulative GPA is 3.0 or better (if you were a freshman in fall & now are a sophomore, only your LACC GPA is counted). If your transfer credits were posted during fall term, though, and you were actually a sophomore at any point during fall term, you would not be eligible for the 1st year award (even if you began the term as a freshman). In that case, your eligibility would be determined by your GPA at your former college (not the GPA of the credits you transferred, but your overall GPA at the other school).</p>

<p>You need to find out your academic year in school for fall … again, it would be your class standing at the end of fall, which may include transfer credits if they were posted at any time in the fall. You need to find out your current class standing. If you are actually a junior now, you can’t get the ACG. Once you find out your class standing for fall & for current term, repost. I will advise from there. (I handle ACG in a financial aid office)</p>

8

<p>When I entered LACC I had ~25 units, so I guess I entered as a freshman, but the Fall semester in which I first started going to LACC I took 12 units, so that’s 37 units if you count previous year’s units + Fall 2010 units.</p>

<p>Reading your post, I guess I would be considered a Sophomore for the Fall. This current semester (Spring) I am also a sophomore. (Freshman=0-30 units, Sophomore 30-60 units)</p>

<p>The thing is LACC only wants to give me a second year’s ACG if I have 30 units with at least a 3.0 GPA <em>FROM</em> LA City College. Therefore, according to them, I am ineligible because the 30 units were not from LA City College but another college. Would there by any point in trying to argue with financial aid and have them consider the units I have from my previous college to get a 2nd year ACG?</p>

9

<p>The only credits that count are the credits you have at the new school that count toward your class standing at that school (if you have transfer credits that the new school has awarded you, those will count toward your class standing at that school). There are other regulations that come into play that could also affect your eligibility.</p>

10

<p>First, you have to find out what your actual class standing is at LACC. This is key. If you are a sophomore at LACC, and if you have credits from LACC that were earned while you were still a freshman, you need to have at least a 3.0. If, at the end of your freshman year at LACC, you have at least a 3.0, you are eligible for the Year 2 ACG. You do NOT have to earn a year’s worth of credits at LACC … there used to be a rule that had to do with a year’s worth of credits, but that rule has not been in effect since 08-09. </p>

<p>It sounds like your first semester at LACC was fall, and you began fall as a freshman. You cannot get two Year 1 awards, so you would not have been eligible for another freshman award. At the end of the fall term, if you became a sophomore after grades posted, and if your GPA from a combination of transfer credits & LACC grades was at least a 3.0, you absolutely were eligible for a spring ACG Year 2 (sophomore) award. You may need to request to speak with a manager. Don’t let free money go … do pursue this. The term is now over, though, so you can only be paid based on the number of credits you completed (so if you dropped any classes, those credits would not be included when determining your credit load for purposes of the award, which is prorated between 6 and 12 credits).</p>

<p>The ACG regulations can be found here: <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1011FSAHbkVol3Ch4.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1011FSAHbkVol3Ch4.pdf&lt;/a&gt; and <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1011FSAHbkVol1Ch6.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1011FSAHbkVol1Ch6.pdf&lt;/a&gt;. </p>

<p>This is the relevant language for GPA:</p>

<p>To determine ACG eligibility for a student who transfers between one and two years’ worth of hours, the current school must calculate GPA using grades for courses accepted from any prior institution toward the student’s ACG-eligible program. For a student who transfers hours that constitute less than one year, the GPA is calculated using grades for all courses accepted into the eligible program and for courses earned at the current school.</p>

<p>This is the relevant language regarding year in school:</p>

<p>To determine the ACG/SMART Grant Scheduled Award for which a student is eligible, you need to determine the student’s grade level in their ACG/SMART Grant eligible program.
These credits would include credit or clock hours earned at the school as well as credit or clock hours accepted on transfer into that student’s ACG/SMART Grant-eligible program.</p>

<p>Here is the relevant language regarding the change from progression to year in school:</p>

<p>Change from Academic Year to Grade Level
A student’s progress and eligibility for ACG/SMART Grants is measured by the student’s grade level. This is a change from 2008-2009 and previous years, when a student’s progress/
eligibility for ACG/SMART was measured by a student’s progress through academic years in their program of study.</p>

11

<p>hmm. Summer is considered part of the 2010-2011 financial year, right? So even after finals ends (June 6 for me), I could sill try and argue with the financial aid office about this?</p>

<p>Also, I don’t think I ever went through an official transferring credits process…i only remember turning in transcripts to get some prerequisites for classes waived. Should I get this done as soon as possible so I can get my transfer credits calculated towards my 2nd year ACG?</p>

<p>Thanks for the help…didn’t realize I had a good argument for this O_o</p>

12

<p>You must be a sophomore at your school in order to receive the Year 2 award. You need to find out your standing. You can’t transfer credits now to count for anything in the past. If you were a sophomore in the spring, you have an argument; if you were not a sophomore, you do not qualify. If you are a sophomore now, you can try to get it for the current term … again, you must be a sophomore now. You can’t ask to transfer credits later & have them count for a term that is completed. </p>

<p>The first step is to contact the registrar. Ask for your class standing for spring, and ask what your current class standing is.</p>

13

<p>I finished 12 units at LACC after Fall 2010. I finished 3 in Winter 2011. So after Winter 2011, I had 15 units completed. </p>

<p>And now I just finished the Spring 2011 semester. I took 18 units this semester, so as of Monday I have accumulated 32 units.</p>

<p>The admissions lady told me that 0-15 is a freshman, 15-30 is sophomore. So I guess this would mean I had actually been a freshman during Spring 2011 (fall 12 units + winter 3 units) even without my units from the other college. do i have something to go on now? Will there be awards left if I can convince them? (Next academic year begins Aug 29) =///</p>

<p>thanks a bunch…</p>

14

<p>bump bump bump</p>

15

<p>again =]]]]]]]]</p>

16

<p>Are you in a trimester school? If not, then spring and summer are probably part of the same term (just modules within the same term) and you would have to have been a sophomore at the START of spring in order to receive ACG at any point in the spring/summer term. It sounds like you were still a freshman at the start of spring/summer, since you had 15 credits. You did not become a sophomore until you earned the 16th credit, and you did not earn the 16th credit BEFORE the spring/summer module began.</p>

<p>If you are in a trimester school, that would be different …</p>

17

<p>I am in a semester school, i’m pretty sure. spring and fall semesters are 16 weeks, and winter and summer semesters are 5 weeks (sometimes winter and summer is not offered due to budget cuts). hmm…</p>

<p>what bugs me is that the manual you posted says something to the effect of “colleges must accept units accepted as transfer units to determine ACG eligibility.” i do remember giving Financial Aid a copy of my other college transcript for them to look at, can i use this as a basis for my argument?</p>

18

<p>They do have to use transfer credits, but only the transfer credits that your school accepts & counts toward your degree. It doesn’t sound like they gave you much, if any, in the way of transfer credit.</p>

19

<p>I’m pretty sure at least 22 out of 23.5 of my units from the old college are transferrable. are you familiar with IGETC and the california community college system? all calif community colleges have an educational plan called IGETC which are transferable to the state university system and other community colleges. they have to be accepted since almost all of the classes i took are on the old college’s IGETC schedule…</p>

20

<p>But you DON’T have those credits now, which means that they have not yet transferred. And if they were to be transferred now, it puts you over sophomore status, anyway.</p>

<p>I am quite confused about your situation, and I just cannot figure out how to advise you. You really are going to have to rely on your school’s determination of your eligibility. Sorry that I am unable to help out more.</p>