<p>Hi all. This question is for a neighbor. About 30 years ago, he went to community college for carpentry and got some kind of certificate (not a degree) when he finished. He can't do that kind of work anymore because of a mobility impairment, and is looking at going back to school. I saw on a college website that if you have a professional certificate you can't get the Pell Grant. Would his carpentry certificate count as a professional certificate, or does that only mean things like teaching certificates?</p>
<p>I think your neighbor is in the clear.</p>
<p>This is from a while back, but I do not see how the rules could have changed that much with regards to what you are asking…</p>
<p>[IFAP</a> - Student Financial Aid Handbooks](<a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/0304Vol3PellGrant.html]IFAP”>http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/0304Vol3PellGrant.html)</p>
<p>It has a pdf file which speaks on eligibility and says this…</p>
<p>Degrees below the baccalaureate level</p>
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<p>I would assume that a community college carpentry certificate from over thirty years ago would be below the BA level.</p>
<p>There is nothing on FAFSA about professional certificates. Professional *students <a href=“e.g.%20medical%20and%20law”>/I</a> are not eligible for the Pell grant, I wonder if that is what you saw? Otherwise what mildred posted is correct - the pell is only available for students that have not completed the requirements for a bachelors degree. If he meets the required EFC cut off then he will be eligible for the Pell. As an independent student his income will have to be pretty low to qualify for the Pell.</p>
<p>Does your state have a program for job retraining? My state has a great program that allows unemployed/underemployed adults to go to school for retraining for free or very low cost. Maybe your state has something similar?</p>
<p>Thanks all, for the help and the research. He has really been struggling to figure out what to do now. The notion that some weird technicality about his voc ed could stop him was really unsettling.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, That’s a good suggestion about state programs (thanks) and I will look into it. I know he doesn’t qualify for regular voc rehab because he is not disabled enough, but there might be something related to being displaced from his regular work. </p>
<p>The challenge is that he needs a very flexible schedule. He’s been on insulin for a couple of years, but his sugar is not very well controlled. He has a few good hours in the early morning, then a few more in the early evening, and a few more in the middle of the night. He can put in 6 hours a day, but not all at once. </p>
<p>He and his sister came up with the idea of him doing medical transcription from home, because he is good with language and computers. He plans to enroll half-time in an online program offered by a community college (Richland) and work on his assignments during the good parts of his day. Then when he finishes, he wants to transcribe from home on the same kind of schedule. </p>
<p>It’s kind of scary for him to start a program that will take him 2 years to finish when he is already over 50, but he seems really excited about having meaningful work again. </p>
<p>Swimcatsmom - I bet you’re right about professional students vs. certificates. We read everything we could find online about every distance ed program approved by the mt association, so no telling what it was I thought I saw. It’s all kind of a blur.</p>
<p>Thanks again all for the help. He’s a good guy who helps people out when he can, so I’m sure he will pay it forward.</p>