(FAFSA required.) Pell Grant offers assistance to high need students working toward their first bachelor's degree. The Pell Grant is funded each year by Congress, which sets the minimum and maximum award amounts. If you are eligible for the Pell Grant, it will be listed on your GSU financial aid award offer. Eligibility is determined by the FAFSA. There is no separate application, and the award will disburse automatically once you are registered. If you are enrolled less than full-time (12 credits) the amount disbursed will be less than the amount listed on your award offer.
Beginning July 1, 2012, students are limited to 6 years of Pell eligibility, or the full time equivalent of six years for those attending less than full time.
What this means for you: You must plan now for your future. If you have attended college for 4 years or longer, receiving the Pell Grant each year, you are likely to exhaust or have already exhausted your lifetime limit of 12 semesters of Pell Grant eligibility during the 2012-2013 school year. If you have attended college and received the Pell Grant for 3 years or less you will likely not surpass the lifetime limit during the 2012-2013 school year.
Whether you have used all of your Pell Grant eligibility or only half, please be conscious about the lifetime limit of the Pell Grant when changing majors and/or scheduling classes. The six year limit is a LIFETIME limit, regardless of completion of your academic goals or bachelor’s degree!
Go to www.nslds.ed.gov to calculate your current aggregate lifetime amount received. This amount will increase should you receive any additional Pell Grant disbursements between now and the start of the fall semester, from GSU or any other college/university in the country. Should you go over the 600%, and be disbursed additional Pell because of timing, you will be responsible for repayment of the amount above 600%, so it is important that you monitor this amount.
For more information the federal government’s website on the subject at http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PellLimit.jsp
**NOTE: Change for Summer 2013**
Due to changes in the federal budget, Summer Pell is no longer available for most students. Only students who did not use their full-time Pell during Fall 2012-Spring 2013 will be eligible for any "leftover" Pell for the summer semester.
(FAFSA required) SEOG is a federal grant available to very high need students working toward their first bachelor's degree. If you are eligible for SEOG it will be listed on your award offer. There is no separate application, and the award will disburse automatically once you are registered.
The TEACH Grant Program provides up to $4000 per year ($16,000 total for an undergraduate program; $8000 total for graduate studies) in grants to full time students who plan to teach full time in high-need subject areas at schools serving students from low income families. Students attending less than full time will have the grant reduced (three-quarter time students may receive up to $3000; and half-time students may receive up to $2000.
In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students (see below for more information on high-need fields and schools serving low-income students). As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant. IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant(s) was disbursed.
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay (service agreement) which will be available electronically on the U.S. Department of Education web site. When you sign the service agreement, you are agreeing to repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date that the grant funds were disbursed, if you do not complete the teaching obligation. You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher at a low-income school. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Your teaching service must be in a high-need field. You must comply with any other requirements that the Department of Education determines to be necessary. Once the grant has been converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a grant.
You will be required to complete counseling through the financial aid office each year that you accept a TEACH Grant. You will also be required to complete Exit Counseling when you graduate or leave school.
At Georgia State University, you must: