<p>Hey everyone! Looking for a Pell Grant expert......I've tried researching but can't find the answer.</p>
<p>I'm currently a full time student and have always received the full Pell Grant amount as I have an EFC of 0. This fall, I received the max for a semester which is $2865. I am scheduled to receive the max for Spring semester, also $2865. However, I will be doing a spring internship and will not be able to attend spring semester. I would like to take winter session (6 credits) at my university and go on a study abroad program offered by another school this summer (6 credits). Would it be possible to still use the entire portion of the Pell Grant, half in winter session and the other half on the study abroad trip?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Have you contacted your school’s finaid office? That’s the place to ask and the place to get it set up the way you want. For some schools summer is the beginning of the finaid year while for others it’s the end of the finaid year. So that’s the first factor that will matter. But the place to ask is your finaid office. Talk to a real finaid officer, not a student assistant.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I’ll have to do that. Just trying to get an idea what the general rules are as my financial aid office has never been helpful. Last year I studied abroad for winter session, and originally they flat out said I couldn’t use any aid for it. After finding facts online that said otherwise, I was able to get them to change their minds and they said “oh yeah, you are right.”</p>
<p>Is “winter session” a session between fall and spring terms? If so, you would be able to get one-half of your second Pell payment in the winter session at your school. You will still have one-half of the second payment remaining. However, you would only be eligible to even MAYBE receive it in summer if your school includes their summer session in the 2014-2015 financial aid award year. If they do, then you would be able to use it IF your school approves the study abroad program for credit. If they don’t, you definitely will not be eligible for that last Pell payment. Below is the language from the FSA Handbook (the aid officers’ Bible) regarding study abroad and financial aid:</p>
<p>Eligible study-abroad students entitled to FSA
Some eligible students have had problems receiving FSA funds for study-abroad programs because neither the student’s home school nor the school the student was temporarily attending documented that the student was enrolled in an eligible program of study. These circumstances have caused otherwise eligible students to be denied financial assistance at both schools. The law states that a student participating in a study-abroad program approved by the home school is eligible for FSA funds, regardless of whether the program is required for the
student’s regular, eligible program of study, as long as
• the student is an eligible regular student enrolled in an eligible program at the home school; and
• the eligible school approves the program of study abroad for academic credit.
The Program Participation Agreement (PPA) requires participating schools to establish procedures that ensure that its students participating in study-abroad programs receive the FSA funds to which they are entitled.</p>