What happens to my Pell Grant if I drop a full semester or a class in the first mini term and have classes in the second mini term?
Assuming the student has a completed FAFSA, we will take a snapshot of their enrolled hours at the beginning of the full semester. This snapshot will include the total hours for the full semester, the first mini term and the second mini term. Their initial Pell Grant amount will be based on these enrolled hours. At the beginning of the full semester, we will disburse the Pell Grant that covers the enrolled hours for the full semester and/or the first mini term. The second mini term Pell Grant will not disburse for those hours until that term starts. Once the second mini term starts, we will take another snapshot of the student’s enrolled hours and reevaluate Pell Grant eligibility. If the student dropped any full semester and/or first mini term classes, those hours will NOT count toward Pell Grant eligibility. Please see the scenario below:
Pell Grant Scenario One:
At the beginning of the semester, the student is enrolled in 12 hours for the full semester and three hours for the second mini term. Since the student is enrolled in 12 hours for the full semester, we will disburse all their Pell Grant at the beginning of the semester. If the student drops nine of their hours in the first three weeks of the full semester but adds a three-hour class for the second mini term, we will take a new snapshot of the student’s enrolled hours to determine what their Pell Grant award should be.
After drop/add ends for the second mini term, we will take a new snapshot of the student’s enrolled hours to determine what their Pell Grant award should be. We will NOT include the nine dropped hours for the full semester in this calculation. Therefore, at the end of drop/add for the second mini term, the student’s enrolled hours are three for the full term and three for the second mini term. Since we originally paid the student for 12 enrolled hours, we would have to reduce the Pell Grant by half since the student is now only enrolled for six credit hours.
The most important thing to remember is, if a student drops classes from the full semester and/or the first mini term and has enrolled in the second mini term, the Pell Grant might be reduced.
If you are a Pell Grant-eligible student and enrolled in any second mini term classes, it is highly recommended that you contact the Financial Aid Office if you plan to drop any full semester and/or first mini term classes.
