Hey, I’ve been anticipating my refund for a couple of months. Note. I took a month long leave from cosmetology school. When I did the math my refund came out to at least $1.4K but I just recently received only $91. :neutral: I needed the money to handle things I need to be able to stay in school and I’m scared to reach out because I don’t want them to think I’m greedy or only want to be in school for money. My award letter went something like this:
TUITION $20975
PELL GRANT $10245
SUB LOANS $6432
UNSUB LOANS $9894
TOTAL AID $26571
I received confirmation about my loan but nothing for my grant yet. What can I do? Anything? Thank you 
Something isn’t right here.
The maximum Pell Grant is just over $6000 for the YEAR (your refund would only be for the term).
What kind of subsidizes and unsubsidized loans are you getting that total $16,000? Even for an independent college senior, the max federally funded loans are $12500 or so…and again…your refund would be for a term…not the full year.
Are you a full time student and have you been for this full term?
What year in school are you? First year? How old are you? Is this a for profit school?
Note. I took a month long leave from cosmetology school<<<<<<<<<
As in dropped out? Withdrew?
Right…if you were not a student, you would not be entitled to money for that period of time. Were you out for a full school “term”…or what.
Your financial aid award makes no sense, and your enrollment status continually is unclear. Please clarify.
I’m scared to reach out because I don’t want them to think I’m greedy <<<<<<<<<<
Frankly, you need to get down to your school and talk to someone. It is not the refund that worries me but the money you owe. Do you understand your financial situation (I would not call it an award)? What is the name of your school?
So…either you are not understanding this…or I’m not. Here is what a typical full award would look like…for Pell and Direct sub and unsubsidized loans…for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Tuition $20,975
Pell Grant $6,050
Total subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loans (I’m doing a larger amount thinking maybe you are an independent student)
$12,500
So your total aid would be $18,550 for the YEAR and that would be for full time enrollment and you said you took a month off.
How did you get a refund?
Did your parents take a Parent Plus Loan for you? Is that the extra loan money?
But that still doesn’t explain the extra $4000 or so you think you got in Pell Grant money.
Do you have access to a student portal? Look at the statement, it should show the actual charges and credits per term.
Hi. This is a cosmetology school and there are TWO award years. I didn’t reference my award I referenced the estimated aid for both years they gave me. My mistake. And I never dropped out. But my school lets you take time off while still being enrolled if need be. I had something happen that I had to handle. But I kept in touch with my instructor and financial aid advisor and they told me everything was on hold until I came back. I’ve been back in class for three weeks and just received the refund two days ago. I just wanted to know if loans and grants were released at the same time because I got a letter in the mail about my loan disbursement. Hope this clarifies
No, just a few weeks
So…this is financial aid for TWO years? What school gives an aid award for two years? You do know that you need to apply for and qualify for things like a Pell Grant annually.
So…let’s say your Pell was $5000, and your loans were $8000 for this academic year. What was the cost of attendance for THIS academic year…$20,000 plus or $10,000 plus.
And this is an estimated award? That means nothing at all. What is your actual award for the 2019-2020 academic year…only.
If you were not an enrolled student during your “leave” your school cannot give you aid for that period of time…and if this affects your enrollment status in such a way that you were not deemed full time, it would reduce your federally funded aid. @kelsmom
None that I know of. This would be so much easier to understand if I did
My award letter for 19-20 was
$15,695
Two disbursements of $3098 in grant money
2 sub loans of $1750
2 unsub loans of $3000
Disbursement dates 10/2/19 and 3/18/20
But my first loan disbursement was late (11/14/19) because of my leave, but the amounts were still correct
So please clarify…
What is the cost of attendance at your school?
Did your leave reduce your enrollment status from full time to 3/4 time or whatever?
Your total aid for one semester was about $8750…right?
The total for the cos program at my school is $20,975 and it’s a two year program. I’m full time
It’s possible that loans are released on a different schedule than Pell. You may need to wait until your school does it’s next Pell draw. The only way to know for sure is to ask your school. It’s not greedy to ask, so don’t worry about that.
you don’t need to worry about asking the school those questions. they’re not going to think you’re being greedy. you have legit concerns…even if you might be wrong.
were there any fees?
You are borrowing a ton of money for a cosmetology degree. That seems very suspect and you are in danger of a serious financial situation. If you can’t afford the school and need loans to keep afloat, how are you going to pay the loan bill when you graduate???
I’m also a little baffled at it being a 2 year program. All the Cosmetology schools in my state are 8 to 10 months for full time students.
Is this a for profit school? You have to complete the FAFSA every year to be considered for a Pell Grant. I’ve never heard of a 2-year Pell Grant. What school are you attending?
It can’t be a two year Pell Grant. Not possible.
Like i said upstream…there is something off about this award.
But the OP surely can ask the school for a clarification. They absolutely will explain.
I will say…the school might consider this student as a continuing student but the federal government usually doesn’t pay for times when students are not enrolled.