<p>I am currently in my 5th year of college. I attended a community college for free for the first two years with a scholarship. I switched to a university and went entirely on student/parent loans for the last three years- I owe around $18.5K. Thing is, I really would like to change my major to computer science as the demand where I live is higher and more useful than what I'm studying and hating now. (I know, sounds stupid, etc). If I change, it would take two more years and I'd graduate in May 2016.</p>
<p>I want to get married in March 2014, but I wasn't sure if it'd permit me to be eligible for a Pell Grant- right now as a dependent, I am not Pell eligible. The cost of my college at 15 credit hours/semester is just under $10,000 a year including the parking and book estimate. My boyfriend is 25 and never attended college, and he is Pell eligible. He is, however, planning on starting half-time at a community college in January (but his job will pay for it all). Our incomes are pretty low- I estimate for the upcoming 2013 FAFSA filing that he'll make ~$13,000 and I'd make ~$2800. I guess I was unsure if our marriage would make us eligible, ineligible, or just have a reduced amount. On top of that, I was wondering if the Pell would still expire in my 6th year since I had loans taken out for 3 years, or maybe not even be awarded because of my debt.</p>
<p>See [Estimate</a> Your Aid | Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/estimate]Estimate”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/estimate) to estimate your aid.</p>
<p>Your Pell Grants are limited to 6 years of usage.</p>
<p>It sounds like you haven’t been getting Pell. Is that right? So, you haven’t used Pell eligibility.</p>
<p>Ah, that’s the tool I was looking for! Thanks. That makes sense now. It did say the EFC was zero based on our income estimates, but I keep feeling like it’s too easy since I’ve been in school with loans for this long. I don’t know if there’s any other legalese I should be keeping in mind, but we don’t really have anything or anyone else to claim on taxes right now…</p>
<p>If you are already in your 5th year, one problem you might run into is eligibility for financial aid. Schools have to have a SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) policy to determine eligibility for aid. It includes things such as a minimum GPA, a minimum % of attempted classes successfully completed, and a maximum number of credit hours attempted. That generally seems to be around 150% of the credit hours required for a degree. For instance, if a bachelors degree at the school usually requires 120 credit hours, a student might become ineligible for aid once they have attempted 180 hours (this includes all classes attempted anywhere). </p>
<p>Sometimes a school might allow an appeal based on a change in major. But it is up to the school. Something to be aware of so you don’t get blindsided.</p>
<p>Okay, good to know. Assuming I don’t repeat anything, I would end up attempting 186 credits upon finishing. So do you know if the financial aid would just be whittled down as I approach my last hours?, like I’d get the normal half of a Pell or other scholarship in one semester, but then for the final semester would they give me a smaller amount, or would that just be something I’d have to pay out of pocket entirely?</p>