<p>I was attending community college in Los Angeles for a little bit in the beginning of the semester but dropped my one and only class and currently am not attending college. I applied for financial aid and pell grant really late and received my pell grant today.
Now for ccc 3 units will cost you about $78 but I received about twice that amount, do I have to return the pell grant or am I getting reimbursed for the previous semesters? because this is my first time applying for financial aid and I got reimbursed for my two previous semesters so is this pell grant part of it?</p>
<p>You can call the FA office and ask before you spend the money. Pell requires at least half time attendance (normally 6 credit hours) so it’s unlikely you received money for the current semester. Is your CC actually on a semester basis or is it trimesters? If semesters, I’m guessing you took at least 6 credits of classes both last summer and in the fall since you say you’re being reimbursed for 2 semesters. Anyway, Pell is a refundable grant and pays for items other than tuition, such as books and transportation.</p>
<p>Actually Pell is prorated based on attendance and people can receive Pell for full time, 3/4 time, 1/2 time and less than 1/2 time. (federal loans do require at least half time - go figure). However if the sole class was dropped then it seems surprising to me that Pell funds would be paid out as often aid for a semester has to be repaid when classes are dropped. I would definitely check with your FA office just to be sure.</p>
<p>SCM, I learn something new every time you post! So is the half time Pell requirement only for summer?</p>
<p>As far as I know it is just for the summer. I hadn’t even thought of that - how strange that they make 12 time a requirement for summer Pell.</p>
<p>It’s not summer Pell that requires 1/2 time … it’s second Pell payment in the same aid year that requires at least 1/2 time enrollment. If a student is less than full time during the regular school year, summer may actually still be paid from the first award. For some students, the second Pell payment actually kicked in for the January term (these students went to summer header schools). The new regulations are VERY complicated. There is a loophole for this year that says while schools must award year-round Pell, they have the option of using certain rules & not others THIS YEAR ONLY. The one rule that must be followed is that the amount paid that exceeds the first 100% requires at least 1/2 time enrollment. The extra rules that some schools won’t have to implement yet this year (although some schools will chose to … and some schools will have to, if their summer term actually begins after July 1) include monitoring for passing grades that make up at least one full year’s worth (based on the school’s definition of “year” for financial aid purposes) of credits and comparing 09-10 & 10-11 EFCs if both are available with the requirement of using the most beneficial one when awarding (and updating the award at any point prior to some not-yet-determined by the Dept. of Ed date when/if the EFC becomes available and/or verified). Confused yet? Join the club!!</p>
<p>Let’s say, though, to keep this simple, that the student receives $5350 this year for 0 EFC. If she was paid $5350 for the first two terms, she has used 100% of her first Pell payment. She is now eligible for a second Pell payment. She MUST have at least half time status in order to receive any portion of the second Pell payment. Why? Because those are the rules.</p>
<p>As far as OP’s payment, she probably received a Return of Title IV funds payment. Students who begin a course are entitled to receive funds based on the days they were enrolled. There is a very complicated formula used to determine the amount paid for an R2T4. If she had 3 credits she would have received Pell at 25% of the semester award (or 12.5% of the annual award), and her R2T4 would use that number & the number of days she was considered enrolled in the term. A calculation would have been done using this info & she would have received a refund if the calculated R2T4 payment exceeded her balance due.</p>
<p>Just re-read the post & saw that OP received disbursements for past terms during this term. Not exactly sure what the deal is, but if the “past semesters” are during the current award year, Pell would be paid for those terms late — payments after the term ends are based on credits completed. There are lots of rules associated with all of this, so my guesses are just that. It’s best to contact the financial aid office to find out what happened in your case.</p>
<p>And I learn 10 new things every time kelsmom posts! 
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to retain this info for very long (dazed and confused by the complexity of these rules I guess)…maybe we should make one big thread for only kelsmom’s posts!</p>
<p>I contacted the FA office and they told me to bring it and talk to them face to face. I would not even have made this thread and would have just gone to the FA office but my cc is almost 20 miles away and IMPOSSIBLE to find parking but I guess I have to go, thanks for all the info though, I learned stuff I never knew.</p>
<p>Sk8rmom my school is semester basis.</p>
<p>If I leave school and apply at another one for the next semester will I get my pell grant the next semester or will they suspend it?</p>