Federal Pell Grant Program
The Pell grant is awarded to students enrolled in Associate Degree and Diploma programs, as well as the Basic Law Enforcement Certificate program, who have been determined eligible upon completion of the FAFSA. Award amounts are determined by the FAFSA results, with eligibility amount each semester determined by the number of hours the student is enrolled. Federal regulations prohibit schools from paying federal aid for more than 30 attempted hours of learning support courses. Students who have already earned a Bachelor’s degree (either in the U.S. or the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree from any other country) are not eligible for the Pell grant.
Students who are Pell eligible may have some portion of the Pell grant available to purchase books from the GPTC Bookstore. This amount will only be available if the student has a credit balance once all tuition and fees have been paid.
The maximum Federal Pell Grant a student can receive for 2018-2019 is $6,195, provided the student has a zero “0” EFC, is attending full-time, and meets all other eligibility requirements. The Pell Grant award is disbursed over two terms (semesters).
Beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year, an eligible student may now receive full Federal Pell Grant for summer 2018, even if they received a full Federal Pell Grant during the fall and spring semesters. Year-round Pell allows students to receive up to 150 percent of a regular grant award over the course of the academic year so that they can continue taking classes in the summer and finish their degrees faster than they would otherwise. To be eligible for additional Pell Grant funds a student must be:
Eligible to receive the Pell grant;
Enrolled at least half-time (6 credit hours) during the summer term;
And maintaining satisfactory academic progress.
Pell Recalculation Policy
Each term, the Pell Recalculation Date will occur on the eighth academic day of the term.
A second Pell Recalculation will occur on the fourth academic day of the Late Start B (eight-week) term.
A student is only subject to one Pell Recalculation Date, determined by the last class in which the student enrolls and attends.
Exceptions to this policy include students failing to begin attendance in class or the college receiving an initial FAFSA for the student. In these cases, Pell must be recalculated.
This only applies to Pell funds.
Note: The provisions of the new law states that any Pell Grant received will be included in determining the student’s Pell Grant duration of eligibility and Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU).