I heard that the pell grant is now year round (starting from July 2017), and now you can get up to 150% of your grant. Where can I get more information on this? I’d be interested in taking classes next summer if I can get aid for it (I get the full amount of pell grant right now).
What is your source for this information?
Yes, there will be year-round Pell again starting in 2017-2018. You can read about it here: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/06/20/year-round-pell-grants-available-july-1.
How do you apply for the summer pell grant?
You don’t apply - your school is required to award it to you if you qualify. Here is the info from the Department of Education website: To be eligible for the additional Pell Grant funds, the student must be otherwise eligible to receive Pell Grant funds for the payment period and must be enrolled at least half-time. For a student who is eligible for the additional Pell Grant funds, the institution must pay the student all of the student’s eligible Pell Grant funds, up to 150 percent of the student’s Pell Grant Scheduled Award for the award year.
I do want to clarify, though, that the year round Pell was not available last summer … that is, you would not have been able to receive the 101-150% portion this past summer.
How do they calculate how much they will give? I receive the full pell grant during the school year and use it all up, how much will I get for summer?
If you enroll in 12 or more credits in a semester, you receive 50% of your annual award. Say your Pell is $5,000 … you would get $2,500 per semester if you enroll in 12 or more credits. It’s going to be the same in summer. If you enroll in 12 or more credits, you receive 50% of the annual award, or $2,500 in the example. If you enroll in 9-11 credits, you receive less … 37.5% of the annual award. For 6-8 credits, you get 25% of the annual award. BUT … you won’t get Pell for less than 6 credits in summer … UNLESS you didn’t use your full 100% annual award in fall/spring (that is, you were enrolled in less than 12 credits in at least one of those semesters). In that case, you can receive any remaining Pell from the first 100%, up to 12.5% of the annual award amount.
@kelsmom, Don’t students only get aid for 12 semesters total? Could students who take 12 credits in the summer & change majors run out of aid?
Any student going to college for 12 semesters SHOULD run out of aid if they are going summers too. That’s 6 years.
If they can get 150% of their Pell eligibility in one year then they would use up their 600% total eligibility in 4 years.
Right, but don’t you think 4 years plus 4 (or even 3) summers is more than enough to meet graduation requirements?
Yes, the year round Pell is included in the lifetime limits. The caveat that the 101-150% must be at least half time is intended to help people to avoid running out too early. If students are taking at least 6 credits for that portion, the idea is that they are hastening graduation (not just taking a class here or there).