<p>Hi, I tried to find an answer to this question in older posts but I didn't see this particular situation addressed in any of them. If a student has used all of the undergraduate aggregate loan limit, is it possible to get a Pell Grant in the future if his/her income levels were to be reduced to a Pell-qualifying level? The student was originally working toward two degrees simultaneously so the number of hours it would take to finish the one that is nearest completion is about 34 credit hours. This will result in an approximate total of 145 total credit hours taken when he/she has completed the degree requirements for one of the two degrees he/she was working toward. (111 credit hours are already completed.)Would a Pell Grant, if awarded,cover the remaining 34 credit hours necessary to complete one of the degrees or would it only cover tuition charges and living expenses up to the usual 120 credit hour requirement for one completed degree plan? Thanks!</p>
<p>*Would a Pell Grant, if awarded,cover the remaining 34 credit hours necessary to complete one of the degrees or would it only cover tuition charges and living expenses up to the usual 120 credit hour requirement for one completed degree plan? *</p>
<p>Pell does not cover tuition and living expenses. Did someone tell you that Pell was that large? It’s not…it’s small.</p>
<p>If a person has a 0 EFC, then he’d get a maximum Pell of about $5600 for the year. That’s probably not enough to cover tuition and very likely not enough to cover housing. </p>
<p>If the person’s EFC is somewhere between 0 and about 5000, then the Pell grant decreases.</p>
<p>How much has this person borrowed to date? Is this person over the age of 24?</p>
<p>Thanks. I had no idea what the amounts per year are for a Pell Grant. The student just wished to know if he/she would be able to qualify for the grant in the future if an unexpected income change were to come about due to unemployment,etc. Thank you for taking the time to reply.</p>
<p>Hi, thanks for responding. Yes, the student is over the age of 24. I believe the total amount of student loans taken is just slightly above the $57,500 limit allowed for undergraduates with the subsidized and unsubsidized limits both having been reached. The student has never qualified for any grants of any kind. Only loans were previously used to pay for the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>NO offense, it the student has reached the the loan limit to pay for school, a pell grant may not help or her in covering the financial aid needed to finish 2 degrees. The max pell grant is 5645 a year, for full time students who have a 0 EFC. Person needs to finish one if it means working and going to school part time.</p>
<p>Thanks.The student only intends to finish the degree that is nearest completion for now.The question arose during a question about job security in the present economy. If the student were to lose his/her job, he/she just wanted to know if a Pell Grant was a possibility so that one of the degrees could be completed.</p>
<p>If the student is currently working, s/he should see if the current employer offers any kind of tuition remission or tuition reimbursement. Instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop, even if s/he can afford to take only one class a term, it is putting them one class closer to a degree. Don’t wait on the what if, because should s/he decide to make a move it is always easier to get a new job when you have a job. I know a person who was in a what if situation. Guess what, the whole division folded and she has been out of work for almost 18 months (her severance ran out the week before Super storm sandy with her house being destroyed).</p>
<p>Yes, the student is currently working and taking courses as he/she can afford them. It was a general conversation about what to do if a job loss should happen and employment was unable to be found immediately afterwards. So, since I had no information about Pell Grant eligibility in such a situation of loans limits being reached, I thought this would be a good place to post that question. Does anybody here know if there is a rule about future Pell Grant eligibility in a situation like this? Thanks again.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that financial aid is based on the previous year. For example financial aid for school year 2014-2015 is based on 2013 income.</p>
<p>So even if he lost his/her job depending on when the job loss was, they would not necessarily be immediately eligible for pell (also remember that any severance pay/packages and unemployment benefits are considered income on the fafsa). </p>
<p>As a young person, s/he is going to have very little income protection because they have a lot of years to work before retirement so a larger part of their earning (no matter what the source) is going to their EFC.</p>
<p>The student was originally working toward two degrees simultaneously</p>
<p>I wonder if schools (or fed aid rules) should makes some rules that FA students need to concentrate on ONE degree and can ONLY work towards two degrees if it is clear that they can complete at least one degree within the FA limitations. </p>
<p>In the past, there have been a few threads about this situation (particularly in Calif where Cal Grants and other aid have strict time and credits restrictions). In those cases, the students were entering their 4th years, working on double majors, and realizing that they can’t complete even one degree by the time their FA runs out that year.</p>
<p>I think very few employers are offering tuitition reimbursements these days, and those that do, it is very targetted.</p>
<p>Some double majors make sense to me. For instance a friend of Ds had an interest in working on the Space Station, and double majored in astronomy & physics with a minor in Russian. She took just slightly longer than a four yr degree, however as she was enrolled in an early entrance program & skipped high school to do so, she wasn’t on financial aid.</p>
<p>OP- Were your plans for a double major equally practical? Is there an advantage career wise to double majoring?</p>
<p>Hi, I do not remember the exact degree programs the student was originally working toward but I do recall that they were related. I hope the student gets a scholarship and retains employment. Hard working students are certainly valuable to society and we really can’t afford to lose our brightest students. I like the idea that Oregon is considering for future financing of college degrees for students. I hope they find a way to make that idea work. ( You can do a Google news search if you haven’t read about Oregon’s idea, if you are interested in learning about their plan.)</p>