<p>I was awarded a Pell Grant for the 2008 school year. I was set to graduate in 2007 however due to an accident i was unable to finish all my finals. One teacher gave me an incomplete and because I was not checking my school email account to accept this incomplete my degree was canceled. I had to reapply for graduation and take a few classes graduating in 2008 with my undergrad. Later i received a letter from the school stating my Pell grants had been revoked. No one could explain why, I called several times. The past due amount was sent to a outside collection agency and is now back with the school. After 2 years, the school was finally able to explain why the grants were revoked. Apparently the government had my graduation date as 2007 and revoked my grants because they had me in the system as a grad student in 2008 which was not correct. The school was able to verify this information however they are telling me that I must pay back the money because the government has already closed the books for 2008. Is there anything i can do? Or am i stuck paying back both of these grants totaling about $3000? Should I get a lawyer?</p>
<p>When you say that your Pell grant was revoked “later”, how much later was it? After graduation? Do you still have a copy of your FAFSA for 08/09 and did you file as an undergrad? Who have you been dealing with at the school? Have you been communicating with them regularly over the past two years?!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t get a lawyer just yet…schools have to follow certain procedures when distributing federal aid and it’s unlikely you’re going to find an attorney who is familiar with those requirements. Whether or not they did that correctly is something you’ll have to try to determine, but it may give you a bargaining chip to get them to reduce or waive the amount due. It sounds like they can’t award Pell for 2008 at this point…that’s not something the school has any control over. But if you filed correctly and their records were incorrect, and they were unresponsive in resolving the matter, you may be able to make a strong case for them to make the charges disappear. </p>
<p>I would start by gathering every piece of documentation, including emails and phone records (I hope you kept these), reading the Application and Verification Guide for 2008 so you’re familiar with the process the FA folks follow, and contacting the federal ombudsman. You’ll want to have a written record, so email is best. If you must resort to verbal communication, log in every phone call with date/time/name and summary of what was discussed. When dealing with the school, contact the top decision makers and be brief, concise, and polite. Include facts and documentation as backup.</p>
<p>Yes, it is far too late to get a Pell reinstated. </p>
<p>As far as why it was revoked, it is not actually the “government” who revokes it. All the federal processor does is process using the information provided. Everything is speculation at this point, because you can’t go back to look at what happened in past years. One possibility for the grant being canceled is that you submitted a FAFSA that said you had earned your bachelors degree. That sounds like the most probable reason to me. I deal with Pell grant problems on a daily basis and this is the most common reason Pell is canceled. Another reason the Pell would be canceled is if the student filed a FAFSA saying he will be working on a grad degree. If these mistakes are made at ANY time during the award year, the Pell will back off.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply, yes, when i filled out my FAFSA for 2007 it did state i would be graduating in 2007 with my undergrad and in 2008 would be a grad student…that was the plan until the accident. The school / Gov cancelled my grant because they believed I was a grad student. As I said my school made me reapply for my degree so instead of 2007 my actual grad year was 2008. I had to go back to school to complete classes and when i filled out the 2008 FAFSA I did state that i was still an undergrad student. Don’t they adjust for life events? I surely thought I would be walking in 2007. Is there anything I can do? I know $3000 may not seem like a lot but I already have student loans…private loans and life to take care of. As I said, before this issue was sent to collections. I did contact the school on several occasions and left messages…talked with staff who could not help because on the books they can see I was in fact an undergrad student in 2008. The collection has since been sent back to the school. I have been working with the Accounts Receivable Manger and the Financial Aid Counselor. Do you have advise for how to get the school to dismiss or charge or reduce it? They just keep telling me sorry there is nothing they can do.</p>
<p>Kelsmom is pretty much the expert here and if she says it is too late for reinstatement, you probably are going to have to move onto the next phase–figuring out how to pay back the monies.</p>
<p>Grant money is grant money–people can be eligible for it but if the window of opportunity is missed or paperwork problems caught too late, the opportunity passes. Sometimes people don’t get grant money because they never applied, didn’t know about it, or maybe because they were literally a single dollar over the threshold. Sometimes a paperwork mistake is made. I can only imagine the frustration–but it sounds like there is no way to retroactively reinstate a grant now that so much time has passed. </p>
<p>By all means, keep asking around and see if there is something that can be done, but I agree that paying a lawyer will probably only result in loss of money for no result.</p>
<p>The school is also unlikely to drop their charges–they need to have their tuition bills paid and if the Fed Aid Grant was revoked, the college needs to recoup the tuition money from you now. Like you, they have bills to pay–professors, building maintenance, electricity bills, etc.</p>
<p>Like I mentioned on an almost identical thread, my sister once made 700/mo working weekends cleaning houses (on top of her M-F regular job) in order to get out of debt quickly. It can be done.</p>
Except that everything about it is totally different.</p>
<p>This person had an accident and an incomplete senior year, and was clerically misplaced as a grad student. You attended several schools and didn’t pay your bill.</p>