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can be used to pay your tuition, or,
if your tuition is covered by other means, help you buy
your books and supplies, or pay your transportation costs.
PELL is available only to students who have not earned
a first bachelor's degree or professional certificate.
What are
the eligibility requirements?
To be eligible for a Federal Pell
Grant and most other types of federal student aid,
you must:
Your eligibility for federal student aid could be suspended if you were convicted
under federal or state law of the sale or possession of illegal
drugs while you were a student receiving federal student aid. To find
out how, or if, this law affects your eligibility for federal
aid, complete the Drug Conviction Worksheet.
How do I apply?
Apply for PELL by filing a FAFSA . Refer to the instructions contained on the
following pages of this site:
How long do I have
to wait for a reply?
You may receive an e-mail response to your application in
as little as 24 hours if you filed online with FAFSA on the Web,
signed using a PIN and provided a valid e-mail address. To receive a response in this short a time, the information you provided on the application must
have been complete and correct.
The Federal Processor must compare some of your application data with the records of certain federal agencies before you can be sent a response. For example, your social security number, name, date of birth and claim of U.S. citizenship must match Social Security Administration records. If you are a dependent student, your parents' social security numbers, names and dates of birth must pass a similar match with Social Security Administration records. If you claim eligible non-citizen status, you must pass a data match with Department of Homeland Security records. Your information will also be compared with U.S.Dept. of Education records to ensure that you don't have a defaulted student loan or owe a federal student aid overpayment. You may have to wait until your application data is verified by these federal agencies to receive a response from the Federal Processor. This can take from 10 days to 2 weeks.
If you used a paper FAFSA to apply, did not provide a valid e-mail address, or did not use a PIN to sign, you will receive a written reply from
the Federal Processor in 3 to 4 weeks.
Using your PIN, you can check
on your application status at FAFSA
on the Web after 10 days. If there are problems with your application information, you will have the opportunity to make your corrections electronically.
If you can't access your application record with your PIN or haven't received a printed or e-mail response after
4 weeks, you may call 1-(800)-4FED-AID; or you may visit
our office to see if the results have been sent to the
college electronically.
What kind of reply
will I receive?
The type of reply you receive depends
on how you initially filed your FAFSA.
If you provided a valid e-mail address on either a web or paper FAFSA, you will receive
an e-mail notification with instructions on how to access
your electronic Student Aid Report (SAR).
If you did not provide an e-mail address, you will receive a paper Student
Aid Report (SAR) within 4 weeks.
With your PIN, you can access and print a copy of your SAR any time after
it is processed at FAFSA
on the Web.
The SAR reports everything you wrote
on your original application along with additional instructions
on what you must do to get PELL and other forms of federal student
aid. If you included BMCC as one of your college choices, the college will receive this
information electronically about the same time your SAR
notification is e-mailed (or mailed) to you.
If your application information
is incomplete or did not pass one or more of the federal agency data matches, the SAR will ask you to provide additional
information or may require that you submit additional documentation to the school. If we discover any problems with your application information, we will send you instructions on what you must do to resolve them.
When your application has been processed,
you will find a number on the SAR called the Expected Family
Contribution (EFC).
What is the EFC?
The EFC is a number that represents
an amount that you and your family are expected to contribute
towards your education. The Office of Financial Aid uses
the EFC, along with the cost of attendance and the number
of credits you are taking, to determine the amount of your
PELL award and your financial need for additional
federal grants and loans. The lower your EFC, the greater
your need for financial assistance.
To get a quick estimate of your EFC without
actually filing a FAFSA, you may use one of these quick and easy EFC Calculators:
What should I do with
my SAR?
When you access your electronic
SAR over the web (or receive a paper SAR in the mail), you should review it carefully for
accuracy and completeness. If the information contained
on the SAR is correct and you haven't been asked to make any
changes, you may receive federal financial aid from
this information. Since the Office of Financial Aid
will have an electronic record of your application
information, you do not have to submit your SAR to
the Financial Aid Office to receive federal financial
aid payments.
If you do choose to
submit your SAR, the Financial Aid Office will be in
a better position to answer questions about your eligibility
and solve problems with your application. There
are certain instances when you should bring your SAR
to the Office of Financial Aid:
- You did not indicate BMCC as one of your
school choices on your original FAFSA. In this instance, your SAR will contain a Data Release Number (or DRN) that our office will need to access your application information electronically.
- You wish to make corrections or changes
to the information on your SAR. A financial aid counselor
can go over the SAR with you, and, should corrections be
necessary, submit those corrections electronically. You
will receive a new SAR confirming that all
the corrections have been made.
- You have unusual circumstances or a change
in your economic situation that you want the Office of
Financial Aid to know about.
My
SAR indicates that my application has been selected for "Verification".
What is that?
The federal government uses a process
called verification to help determine the correctness
of the financial information on your FAFSA. If
your application needs to be verified, there will be
an asterisk (*) to the right of the EFC and written
comments on the SAR indicating what actions you need
to take to complete the verification process. Your
electronic record will also indicate that verification
must be completed before any federal student aid payments
are made.
If your application is selected for verification, or if there are any other questions about your application, our office will send you a letter or e-mail asking you to provide documentation of
your SAR information and complete a "Verification
Worksheet". You will have to submit copies of U.S. Income
Tax returns and other requested items before you receive
any payments of federal student aid.
If you or your parents don't have a copy of
your tax return, obtain one from your tax preparer or request
a copy from the IRS following this instructional
fact sheet.
The information you submit will be reviewed
by financial aid
personnel who
will check your application for errors and, if necessary,
have
your forms reprocessed. In most cases, reprocessing can
be accomplished electronically and takes about 7-10 business days.
Our office may choose to verify your application
even if there is no asterisk next to the EFC. The U.S. Department
of Education gives us the authority to collect any document
we judge to be necessary to prove that your financial aid application was completed
accurately and completely.
In cases of actual or suspected fraud, we will
be required to refer the matter to the US Department of Education's
Office of the Inspector General.
When can I expect to receive
my PELL money?
You will receive a disbursement
of PELL or other federal funds only after the Office of Financial
Aid has received your application record in electronic form, and has determined that this record
is correct and final, accurately reflecting all changes, corrections
and updates and accompanied by all required supporting documentation.
When these conditions have been met, and your correct enrollment
status determined, you will receive a Pell
Factsheet telling you when you will receive your PELL disbursement.
Ordinarily, PELL disbursements
take place once each semester during the week set aside
for the major PELL distribution. You can expect a Fall
payment in November and a Spring payment in April according to the following Financial Aid Disbursement Schedule.
If you fail to make the deadline for the major PELL
distribution, you may usually receive a late disbursement
of PELL, subject to the deadlines listed below.
How much PELL can
I receive?
PELL amounts vary from year to year according
to the total amount of money budgeted by Congress to the program.
Your EFC, enrollment status and cost of attendance also affect
how much PELL you receive each term. You may not receive PELL
funds from more than one school at a time.
During the 2008-09 year, the maximum PELL paid
to a full-time student with a "0" EFC will be $2365.50 per semester.
If your EFC is greater than "0" or your enrollment status
less than full-time, your PELL will be adjusted downward according
to an award schedule. You may find out how much Pell you might
receive this semester by going to the Pell
Grant Award Schedule page.
You may
check your award status on PANTHER
-- BMCC's online student information system. Access PANTHER
from the BMCC Home Page.
Will the number of
credits I take and my class attendance have an effect on
the amount of PELL I receive?
Yes. The amount of your Federal
Pell Grant varies depending on your enrollment status
each semester. You may determine your enrollment status
by counting the number of credits or equated credits
for which you have been charged tuition.
| FULL-TIME --
enrolled for 12 or more credits or equated credits. |
|
3/4-TIME -- enrolled for
at least 9, but fewer than 12 credits or equated
credits.
|
| HALF-TIME --
enrolled for at least 6, but fewer than 9 credits or
equated credits. |
| LESS THAN HALF-TIME -- enrolled
for at least 1, but fewer than 6 credits or equated
credits. |
To qualify for a Federal Pell Grant award payment,
you must begin attendance and maintain enrollment in your
classes. The Office of Financial Aid will check your enrollment
status with the Registrar and recalculate your Pell eligibility
before issuing a disbursement of your Pell Grant.
What are the deadlines
for me to qualify for PELL?
To receive a PELL payment for any
term, your FAFSA must have been received and processed
by the Federal Processor while you were still enrolled,
or by June 30 of the award year, whichever is earlier.
Your application record must have had an eligible EFC
by your last day of enrollment and the Office of Financial
Aid must have certified that your application information
is valid and correct by that date.
If your application
record has been selected for verification, the deadline
for submitting the required verification documents
is extended for 120 days after your last day of enrollment,
or by the 2nd week in September of the award year, whichever is earlier.
What
if I need money at the beginning of the semester for books
and transportation?
Since Federal Pell Grant awards for the Fall semester are
not paid until November and Spring awards not paid until April,
we make a portion of your award available at the beginning
of the semester to help you purchase books and supplies. Under the Pell Grant Purchase Advance Program, a store credit is established at the BMCC bookstore that allows you to purchase books, school supplies
and Metrocards. Your BMCC ID Card serves to establish your identity and eligibility for this store credit.
This purchase advance may be worth up
to $500 based on the amount of available Pell Grant remaining
after the payment of tuition and fees. Utilize your advance
at the bookstore anytime between the first day of class and
the end of the third week of each semester. Your eligibility
for the advance will be displayed on the PANTHER student information
system for the first 3 weeks of each semester. Access
the Pell Grant Purchase Advance
page of this website for more information.
What if I withdraw
from a class or classes?
Financial aid is awarded with the expectation that you attend all the classes for which your awards were intended. If you fail to begin attendance in your classes and receive and financial aid payments, you must return those payments immediately to the college.
If you withdraw from a class or
classes, either officially or unofficially, the class(es)
will not be counted in calculating your enrollment
status and the amount of your Pell Grant disbursement.
If you receive completion grades in any courses not
included when your original Pell Grant award was calculated
and disbursed, you may request that the Office of Financial
Aid recalculate your award and issue you any additional
funds.
If you withdraw from all your classes after
receiving a disbursement, you may have to repay any award
amount to which you were not entitled as determined by
the college according to federal regulations. If you
fail to repay any award amount to which you were not
entitled, you risk losing eligibility for future federal
aid payments.
If you withdraw from all of your classes
before a scheduled Pell Grant disbursement, you may be
eligible to receive a portion of your Pell Grant based
on the number of days you attended classes up to the
date you withdrew. If you are eligible for a post-withdrawal
disbursement, you will receive a letter advising you
when you may receive these funds.
Retroactive withdrawals which
eliminate any record of your attendance for a term will
result in your having to repay all assistance you may
have received for that term.
For more information about the effect of
withdrawals on your federal financial aid eligibility, click
here.
Can I get PELL
for repeating a course?
If you are repeating a course under
the college's F/C- or lower grade policy you may receive
PELL and other forms of federal aid for that course.
You should remember that repeating a course may limit
your ability to meet the Satisfactory
Academic Performance requirements for receipt of
federal student aid.
Can I get PELL
for remedial courses?
You may receive PELL and other forms
of federal aid for up to 30 hours of non-credit remedial
course work (excluding ESL courses). After you have reached the 30 hour limit on remedial course work, you may not receive PELL or other forms of federal student aid for any additional remedial hours.
Can I
get PELL for the summer or winter session classes?
You may receive up to the equivalent of 2 full-time semesters
of Pell Grant in any award year. If you do not use all of
your scheduled Pell Grant eligibility in the Fall or Spring
semesters because
you were not enrolled, or were not enrolled full-time, you
may be able to receive a Pell Grant disbursement for attendance
in either the summer or winter sessions. The amount of your Pell Grant
will be calculated from your summer or winter session enrollment, your
EFC, and the college's records of your remaining Pell eligibility.
College policy allows you to receive credit for an anticipated summer session Pell Grant disbursement on your summer tuition bill. However, if you enroll in a winter session class, you must pay your entire tuition bill at registration. After your winter session Pell Grant eligibility has been determined, a Pell Grant disbursement will be made.
Remember that, as in any regular semester,
actual payment of a summer or winter session Pell Grant depends on your attendance
in the classes for which you are enrolled. Dropping or withdrawing
from classes may reduce or cancel your award and result in
a tuition balance owed the college.
How long can I
receive PELL?
You may receive PELL at BMCC as
long as you continue to meet the standard of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal
Financial Aid Programs and you haven't exceeded
the limitation of 30 hours of payment for noncredit
(non-ESL) remedial course work (for more information,
see Remedial or Developmental Course work and Eligibility
for Federal Financial Aid).
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