Since Federal Pell Grant awards for the Fall semester are not paid until October and Spring awards not paid until March, the Office of Financial Aid schedules an advance payment of Pell for eligible students at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. These advance payments are intended to give you a portion of your award at the beginning of the semester to help purchase books and supplies.

The amount of your Pell Advance can be up to $600 but depends on the amount of available Pell Grant remaining after your tuition and fees are paid.

In order to provide an advance payment to as many students as possible within the first 2 weeks of classes, the Office of Financial Aid schedules several dates at the beginning of each term for the distribution of the advance. You must meet the above conditions in one of the columns of the Fall or Spring chart to receive an advance payment on one of the scheduled dates.

If you have chosen either the CUNY Scholar Support Prepaid Card or direct deposit methods to receive your financial aid disbursements, your Pell Advance will be added to the card or appear in your account on one of the above payment dates (based on which payment deadline you meet). If you are receiving a check, it will be mailed to your home on the scheduled date. Eligible students will be sent an email notification before the scheduled distribution date.

These payments do not represent any additional financial aid. If you receive an advance payment, the amount of this payment will be deducted from your regular Federal Pell Grant disbursement. Please note that if you receive a Pell Advance but di not begin attendance in your classes, you must return the payment immediately to the college.