<ol>
<li><p>How many credits are considered full time?</p></li>
<li><p>How many credits are considered part time?</p></li>
<li><p>How much is the max amount of a Pell grant one can receive going part time? </p></li>
<li><p>For how many semesters can one receive a Pell Grant as a full time student? Part time student?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>How many credits are considered full time? 12 credits</p></li>
<li><p>How many credits are considered part time? 6 credits</p></li>
<li><p>How much is the max amount of a Pell grant one can receive going part time?
2775 if student has a 0 EFC</p></li>
</ol>
<p>[MCC</a> | 404 - Page Not Found](<a href=“http://www.muskegoncc.edu/Include/FinancialAid/1112Pellchartmcc]MCC”>http://www.muskegoncc.edu/Include/FinancialAid/1112Pellchartmcc).</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Typically from my experience 12 credits is looked at as full time (4 courses at 3 credits each). But I went to another school where each course was 4 credits each, so 16 was considered full time. My insurance and private loans also consider 12 credits to be full time, so that seems to be the norm. Anything less than that would be part time.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the Pell grant questions. I just know that whenever I filed my FAFSA I would either qualify for the Pell for the following year, or I wouldn’t. It might depend on any financial information changing from one year to the next.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>sybbie, I don’t think that the info that you tried to link is there any longer.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the answer to:
4. For how many semesters can one receive a Pell Grant as a full time student? Part time student? </p>
<p>Also, if a student is in a minimum wage part time job and goes to school part time with a partial Pell Grant, I assume that if this employer offered college tuition reimbursement for a 3.0 or better, the student would not be eligible if the class was not paid for by that student (paid for by the Pell). Is this correct? Could a Pell Grant go toward cost of housing (even off campus), transportation, or health insurance and tuition be paid for by the student so that they could make use of tuition reimbursement program in year one? I assume that in year two, the Pell would disappear if the student received 80% tuition reimbursement through their part time employer (housing, transporation, and health insurance were not covered in the reimbursement). Correct?</p>
<p>Try this.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.kirtland.edu/financialaid/documents/1112Pellchart.pdf[/url]”>http://www.kirtland.edu/financialaid/documents/1112Pellchart.pdf</a></p>
<p>you can also google 2011-20012 pell grant tables (if link does not open)</p>
<p>IS the student over 24? IF not, his/her parent’s income & assets will still be the determining factor as to whether or not the student is pell eligible.</p>
<p>Full time for Pell grant purposes is 12 credits, regardless of the school’s definition of full time. The Pell grant is scheduled for 100% in a year. A student may receive up to 50% in a semester. That 50% is prorated if enrollment is less than 12 credits (37.5% for 9-11 credits, 25.0% for 6-8 credits, 12.5% for 1-5 credits). However, in the higher range of Pell eligible EFC’s, there is some variance to this … you will see this in the Pell chart referenced above.</p>
<p>Students may receive up to 900% Pell … that is, if you total the % paid each semester, they can receive 900% in all (but the tracking did not begin until 09-10).</p>
<p>Pell is an entitlement … the only federal aid that is identified as such. Even if a student has tuition reimbursement (or a huge scholarship), Pell is still paid as scheduled. Schools could theoritically reduce their full scholarships by the amount of the Pell grant, but that would be spelled out in the terms of the scholarship. You know that rule that need based aid cannot exceed COA? It can actually happen if the only aid is Pell and non-need based aid.</p>
<p>Another thing: If a student goes less than full time in fall and/or winter, the remainder of the 100% is available for summer term (assuming trailer school … if header, the winter payment would be the remainder of the annual 100%).</p>
<p>Thank you sybbie and kelsmom.</p>
<p>I am shocked that a student can get tuition reimbursement AND a Pell Grant the following year! Does the tuition reimbursement factor into “income” to raise an EFC? I can understand a Pell to help with housing, transportation and a computer perhaps, but still… That is interesting.</p>
<p>Sybbie, I am sure the student is over 24, I think they will be turning 26. Thanks for that link. I will try it.</p>
<p>Oh, I have another Q for Kelsmom. If the student works and goes to school as a part time student, for how many actual semesters would they qualify for a Pell grant? I really am not sure as to what the 900% means (10 semesters as a full time student)?</p>
<p>sybbie, if you know the answer to #8, please feel free to answer as well.</p>
<p>It’s not really semesters. Each year, a student can receive up to 100% of their scheduled award. So let’s say that a student gets a $4000 Pell grant. Then let’s say that student takes 4 credits fall, 8 credits winter, and 6 credits summer. This would be 12.5% fall, 37.5% winter, and 25% summer. This is 75%. The next year, this student gets a $5000 Pell grant. The student again takes 4 credits fall, 8 credits winter, and 6 credits summer. Even thought the grant amount was higher, the % of annual award remains the same. After 2 years, the student has now received 75% + 75% = 150%. Notice that if you used semesters, it would look like the student had received 6 semesters worth of Pell, so would only have 18-6=12 semesters remaining. But since it’s actually 900%, not 18 semesters, the student has 900%-150%=750% remaining. This is a really big distinction … 750% covers at minimum 15 semesters more, not 6 semesters.</p>
<p>The thinking for Pell being awarded in excess of COA is that it is for the very poorest students, and the government does not reduce it no matter what other non need based aid is awarded. Note that there would be no other need based aid at all in this scenario, including unsub loans, PLUS, or private loans (certified through school) … even though unsub, PLUS, and private loans are not technically need based, they cannot be in an aid package in excess of COA.</p>
<p>Now I understand it better, kelsmom. Thank you for explaining.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A PT student on a Pell could not get a unsub Stafford? Why? Would their package have Sub Staffords?</p>
<p>Sorry … what I meant was in the case of Pell being awarded in excess of COA along with other aid, there would be no loans or other grants. If there is completely non-need based aid, the Pell can be added on & the cost of attendance can be exceeded. Not so if there is any grant/loan aid.</p>
<p>For example, if the COA is $15,000 and the student has a $15,000 merit scholarship, she could still get her full $2000 Pell (assuming that’s her full Pell grant amount). She would have aid totaling $17,000 but Pell still won’t be reduced.</p>
<p>Let’s say the student has $15,000 in aid, but it is not all merit aid. Let’s say it’s a $10,000 merit scholarship, $3500 sub loan, and $1500 unsub loan. This totals $15,000. This student checked the wrong box on the FAFSA & said she had a prior bachelors degree, even though she did not. so she got packaged without Pell. She fixes the FAFSA & becomes eligible for Pell. Now the package would be merit scholarship=10,000, Pell=2000, sub=3500, and unsub=1500. The total of all aid=$17,000, which exceeds the COA. This time, the aid has to be adjusted. The unsub loan must be removed and the sub loan has to be reduced by $500 (assuming for simplicity’s sake that the EFC isn’t an issue that would cause some sub to have to become unsub).</p>
<p>kelsmom, thank you.</p>
<p>kelsmom, where on the fafsa is tuition reimbursement reported?</p>
<p>I’m thinking it falls under untaxed income for FAFSA unless it exceeds a certain threshold amount (around $5K, IIRC), at which point the excess would be included in the AGI.</p>
<p>I would think all tuition reimbursement is taxable income, included in the income reported on the wage earner’s W2. Even the small dependent tuition reimbursement my H used to get from his company was taxed. I am no tax expert, but I think all “extra” money people get from their employers ends up getting taxed.</p>
<p>If not, I sure never looked for it as a financial aid officer.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So then does tuition reimbursement get added in as earned income on the fafsa? Wouldn’t this lower the amount of a Pell grant? That’s what I am not clear about.</p>
<p>From salary.com (too lazy to read IRS regs on a Sunday night) so I don’t really know if it’s still in effect for this tax year:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks sk8mom.</p>
<p>It is possible that the IRS has rules about tuition reimbursement and education tax credits, income from scholarships/grants, etc. I don’t know, though. I don’t know why the student would need to put it on the FAFSA any more than they would have to put any other scholarship or grant on the FAFSA … it’s financial aid.</p>