A friend’s son has been turned down for a Pell grant. He is 24, has no income (lives with parents). He earned an ATA (associate of technical arts) degree, but wasn’t able to find a job, so he wants to continue on in school. His community college says he is not eligible for the Pell grant. I’ve looked online, but I’m not seeing the reason for this. He does not have a bachelor’s degree, and I would be very surprised to learn the ATA counts as a professional degree.
He has met with someone at the college, who told him he was not eligible, and that it is up to the college to decide who is eligible. (I thought Pells were federal money, determined on need via the FAFSA.)
Anyone seen a similar situation?
So he already has an associate’s degree. Does he want to get another associate’s degree, or does he want to pursue a bachelor’s degree?
Ah, I think it is another ATA or similar–another associate’s degree. I’m not seeing it spelled out anywhere on the Federal Student Aid website, but I assume you can’t do a second associate’s degree?
I’m not sure about that. If I was the student, I would ask which federal or school regulation specifically makes me ineligible for more Pell money. The school official needs to be able to cite a written regulation or policy that is on point.
Thanks, BelknapPoint. It looks like he needs to try and move a little higher in the administration and get more info.
I think it is that the student isn’t making SAP after a first AA degree. Someone asked about this last week (out of a California cc) and the answer was that you have to move on to a 4 year degree after the first 2-3 years.
The answer is tricky. He can theoretically use Pell for another associate’s degree. Where he is most likely getting caught up is the SAP requirements. The school can definitely determine that he has exceeded SAP due to the fact that he already has an associates degree.
Thanks for the additional comments, twoinanddone and kelsmom! The SAP component is probably the roadblock.
Isn’t having someone take too many lower level classes one of the goals of the 600% Pell amounts and the 150% loan regs? It seems like the rules are working. While this particular student might benefit from having two AA degrees, the system as a whole doesn’t. We need everyone to keep moving through the system.
The idea behind it is that federal aid is limited overall, so the regulations are designed to allocate aid in the most equitable manner. As with any rules, they aren’t perfect for everyone.