Recent Changes That Affect Your Eligibility for a 2012-2013 Federal Pell Grant

[Aelias728]

So I've found this fourm about 1 year ago. Took some time off to have twins. So finishing up my last 3cr hours this summer. Ive been working on my BA since 2002 on and off. More off than on, lol. Anyhow, I did my FAFSA so I could take a BA cert at APU in infant education. Well since I wouldn't have a BA until August officially, I had to do undergrad FAFSA for 2012-2013. Well I got this email today.

"
Dear Alecia:

We want to alert you to a recent change in the law that affects your Federal Pell Grant award for the 2012-2013 school year and beyond. *This change limits the total number of years a student may receive a Pell Grant to the equivalent of six years.

Based on our records, you have already received at least six years of Pell Grant funding. *This means that you are no longer eligible to receive Pell Grant funding, starting with the 2012-2013 school year. *Note that you still may be eligible for other federal, state, and school financial aid.

For information on how we calculate the "equivalent of six years" click on the following link: FSA Portals.

If you have questions about the information in this e-mail, please contact your school's financial aid office.

Federal Student Aid
U.S. Department of Education


:mad:

Do you know what this will do to the adult learner? They will have to drop out or take out loans. Which is going to make the federal student loan debt increase tremendously. This majorly sucks!!! Thank God I will be done before this goes into affect. But this is even more motivation for me to share all the wonderful information I've learned with others.

[cooperalex2004]

They messed me up by changing the income limits for the Pell Grant. They reduced the limit which you need to be under to receive the full amount so even though I made less money than last year, my Pell Grant went down quite a bit.

Here is the link to what you were talking about:
Student Aid on the Web

Since I didn't use any aid when I first started college I appear to be at 187.495% of the 600% (six year) limit. The site above gives a link to check your percentage and says it isn't available until June but mine worked. Check out National Student Loan Data System for Students

Once you login it should show you a list of grant years and schools attended and give you that percentage. For anyone who hasn't done their FAFSA yet I'd urge you to do it ASAP to know whether you are affected by the percentage limit or the reduced income limit (which I think changed from $32,000 to $21,000). I think they just had too many people out of work using the aid programs and they needed to restructure it.

[sanantone]

I'm not going to be very popular for this, but I think this is great! They should also lower the lifetime limit for loans. This would force schools to lower their tuition rates and stop students from taking advantage of the system just to whine later that they have too much debt. I don't know if I took out 6 years worth of Pell Grants, but I have to admit that I took longer to finish school than I should have as an immature, young adult because I knew funding would always be there.

[Prloko]

Third party payment systems have a real bad way of driving costs and demand way up. I think you're right, with students having to bear some costs out of pocket, maybe tuition and book prices will go back to equilibrium.

I'm not going to be very popular for this, but I think this is great! They should also lower the lifetime limit for loans. This would force schools to lower their tuition rates and stop students from taking advantage of the system just to whine later that they have too much debt. I don't know if I took out 6 years worth of Pell Grants, but I have to admit that I took longer to finish school than I should have as an immature, young adult because I knew funding would always be there.