De Anza College students receiving a Pell Grant may find obtaining their financial aid more confusing than ever.

The way students get their money has been altered due to a bill recently passed in Congress and is causing a lot of confusion among students who receive the grant.

The Pell Grant is a federally funded grant that provides financial assistance to students in need based on a number of criteria.

An email was sent on April 20 specific to Pell Grant recipients who received a grant in summer or transferred mid-year after receiving aid at another school.  Students were told amounts received in the summer term of the 2011-12 year may need to be deducted from their spring quarter disbursement because of annual maximums. 

“Last year students were given an extra quarter – another $1975 – for summer.  The federal government said no more year-round Pell,” said Hieu Huynh, De Anza College financial aid assistant.

Hyunh referred to Congress’ modification to the old Pell Grant guidelines, essentially changing Pell disbursements to two semesters a year, which leaves quarter system schools like De Anza and Foothill College spreading the sum out over three quarters.  The Pell Grant award year begins July 1 and ends June 30 the following year.

“Students are getting less money for spring because if you are fully eligible for the Pell, that is $5,550 split between three quarters,” said Huynh.

“If a student decides to go to school during the summer, the spring and summer are split.  We roll down the leftover money from the $5,550 that hasn’t been used up from summer, fall and winter for payment in spring.” 

Additional changes have been enacted which may affect De Anza students.

Students can now only receive a Pell Grant for 12 semesters where before they were allowed up to 18 semesters.  This means that students receiving the grant who are taking their time deciding on a major or transferring may see funds run out before they had expected.

“Students have a total of six years for a Pell payment and once they have used up all six years, they are no longer eligible for Pell,” Huynh said.

Huynh warns that students need to be careful and pay close attention to how many years they have been receiving a Pell Grant.

“We run a lot of reports and some students have been here for more than six years,” said Huynh said. These students will be ineligible for future funding via the Pell Grant.

However, as reported in the April 23 issue of La Voz, the maximum award amount for Pell Grants will increase by 1.5 percent, bringing the maximium amount to $5,635, effective in 2013.  This will allow those eligible to receive a small amount more to put toward their education.

Because of these specific changes, it is important for students to make sure they meet all eligibility requirements to ensure they receive the most aid possible.

For more information, Huynh recommends visiting www.fafsa.org or searching the web for Pell Grant changes for the 2011-2012 award year.