The Federal Pell grant is considered to be the “foundation” of a student’s financial aid to which aid from other Federal and non-Federal sources may be added. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine Pell Grant eligibility. Pell Grant does not have to be repaid except in cases involving a student’s complete withdrawal. To apply, students must complete all financial aid application procedures and complete a “FAFSA” application.
There is a lifetime limit on the amount of Pell grant funds a student may receive. All students may receive Pell grants for up to 12 semesters, measured by percentage of scheduled award(s) disbursed up to 600%.
· Once a student has reached the lifetime limit of 600%, they are no longer eligible to receive Pell grant funds.
· Once a student has a bachelor’s degree, they are no longer eligible to receive Pell grant funds.
Students should register for classes that lead to the completion of their designated major. Financial Aid will not pay for classes taken outside of the student’s major on file at the time the student registers.
Pell recalculation is only performed during the add/drop period. Initial Pell will be adjusted if enrolment status changes within the add/drop period. However, Pell recalculation will not be performed once hours are frozen on the Pell recalculation date (Pell freeze date). If a student registers for additional courses after the Pell recalculation date, no additional Pell grant funds will be made available for the added course.
Year-Round Pell
An eligible student may receive a full Federal Pell Grant in the summer semester even if they received a full Federal Pell Grant during the fall and spring semesters. Year-round Pell allows students to receive up to 150 percent of a regular grant award over the course of the academic year so that they can continue taking classes in the summer and finish their degrees faster than they would otherwise.
Note: The provisions of the law state that any Pell Grant received will be included in determining the student’s Pell Grant duration of eligibility and Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU). To be eligible for additional Pell Grant funds:
· Student must be otherwise eligible to receive Pell Grant funds for the payment period
· Student must be maintaining satisfactory academic progress
Transient Students
A transient student is a student who attends another college and will be in attendance at Jefferson State one semester and then return to their home institution. Transient students are not eligible to receive financial aid at Jefferson State.
