Grants

See below for details about how your classes (enrollment) can affect the amount of Pell Grant you receive:

• All incoming Pell Grant students will be shown estimated awards based on full time enrollment before registering for classes.
• You don't usually have to be enrolled in 12 credit hours to receive the Pell Grant!
  • However, if you enroll in less than 12 credit hours, your Pell Grant will decrease from what is initially estimated/previewed for you, but you may still be eligible for aid if less than full time.
  • Some students may have their award completely cancel if they are less than full time, because of their Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
• Awards adjust up and down based on your enrollment up until the Last Day to Drop w/ a Refund for the parent term (the major semester).
  • No increases can be made after this date, though if you drop classes after this date, the financial aid office may have to adjust your award, per federal rules.
  • See the Enrollment Status and Financial Aid Section of the Financial Aid Handbook for details about how this works.
  • If you add classes in mini-terms/flex-terms (i.e. B terms) and you are enrolled in the parent term, you will not get additional Pell Grant for that mini-term!
• Classes have to count toward your program of study or your Pell Grant will be reduced.
  • If you have red messages on your schedule, then the Pell Grant can't cover those classes.
  • Those classes are outside of your program, or you have 0 hours remaining in that subject area of your degree audit.
• You may also only receive the Pell Grant for a limited time. Learn more about the Lifetime Eligibility Usage (LEU) at Financial Aid TV.

Qualifying for Summer Pell Grant

Students who are otherwise eligible for the Pell Grant may qualify for the Summer Pell Grant. There are two situations where the Summer Pell Grant is available:

• You may not have attended full-time (12 credit hours) in either the fall semester or in the spring semester, so you have some of your annual Pell Grant amount available for you to use over the summer.
• You did attend full-time (12 credit hours) in the fall semester and spring semester, so you are using the additional 50% Summer Pell Grant that students may now access due to recently updated federal rules.
  • You must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credit hours) to get Pell Grant in the summer.

Depending on which Summer Pell Grant you are using, the rules are slightly different.

If any portion of your Summer Pell Grant is coming from the second situation (if you were full-time in both the fall and spring semesters), then you have to have to maintain at least half-time summer enrollment (6 credit hours). For the second situation, if at any point, you are enrolled in less than half-time (6 credit hours), the full amount of the Summer Pell Grant will be forfeit, so it will be cancelled. In some cases, this means it will have to be paid back or it will never be paid out/disbursed, and you will owe for any classes that were held using the estimated amount (deferred).

Summer Pell Grant Process

• The Summer Pell Grant is automatically awarded to students who are enrolled in their summer classes.
  • Check the status of your Summer Pell Grant on My FA Status on eSantaFe.
• The process runs every Tuesday beginning when regular registration opens for summer classes.
  • If you need to hold classes and it is near the last day to add or the last day to drop, please notify the Financial Aid Office.
• This process will create a deferment and may hold classes, so be sure to actively drop any classes that you do not want to take.
• Summer funding will cancel for students who are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress when grades post at the end of the spring semester, however.