Year-Round Pell Q & A

Q. What is Year –Round Pell?

A.  A Federal Grant Program which enables eligible students to receive 150% of their Federal Pell Grant funds in one academic year. This eligibility became effective for the 2017-18 academic year.

Q. Will I be eligible for Year-Round Pell?

A. If you meet all Federal Pell Grant eligibility requirements and have at least 75% of your lifetime Pell Grant eligibility remaining at the end of fall semester, you will be awarded a Federal Pell Grant for summer semester at CSU.

Q. How do I know if I have at least 75% lifetime eligibility remaining?

A. You can check for your remaining eligibility level online by logging on to https://studentaid.gov using your FSA ID and view your Lifetime Eligibility Used under the Grants section of the "My Aid" summary.

Q. When will I know if I am eligible for Year-Round Pell?

A. Cleveland State University will make initial awards beginning in October each year, to allow you to plan your summer semester enrollment.  In April, we will confirm your Summer eligibility based on actual annual usage and limits.  

Q. How much will I receive in Year-Round Pell?

A. A student will be initially awarded a summer Federal Pell Grant based on full time enrollment (12 or more credits).  The amount will be adjusted in May, prior to the start of the summer semester, based on your enrollment level at that time.  Enrollment levels are defined in the following manner: 12 or more credits=100% of the semeseter Pell Grant amount; 9, 10 or 11 credits=75% of the semester Pell Grant amount; 6,7 or 8 credits=50% of the semester Pell Grant amount.

Q. Are there a minimum number of credit hours that I must be enrolled to be considered for Year-Round Pell?

A. Students should plan on registering for at least six credits during the summer semester to be considered for Year-Round Pell.

Q. Do I have to register for all the classes during the first summer session?

A. You may register for classes for any summer sessions and your Pell Grant amount will be determined based on the combined credit hours during all sessions.

Q. Will my Pell Grant be reduced if I complete the first summer session classes and then drop, withdraw or do not successfully complete the second summer session?

A. It is possible that you could owe a portion of your Federal Pell Grant back to CSU if you do not successfully complete classes that you registered for in the second summer session, even if you successfully complete classes in the first summer session. The amount you may owe will be calculated based on the drop date, the number of credits and the last date that you attended classes.

 

An example of how Year-Round Pell (YRP) works.

A student with a Zero Expected Family Contribution is eligible for roughly $6000 (100% of the student's annual limit) in a Pell Grant for the year, or $3000 for the fall semester and $3000 for the spring semester. Under the YRP program, this student could receive an additional $3000 for the summer semester if they enroll full-time (12 credits), or a maximum of $9,000 (150% of the student's annual limit) for the entire academic year.

If the student enrolled half-time (six credits) for the summer semester, the student would receive a $1500 Federal Pell Grant, or one-half of a full semeseter disbursement.

 

Important facts to note regarding summer enrollment:

The maximum timeframe that students may receive Federal Pell Grant is the equivalent of twelve full-time semesters. One full-time semester of Pell equals 50%.

Eligible students may receive up to three Pell disbursements in one academic year.

Pell Grant alone is not enough to cover the full cost of attending classes in the summer.

Many students use their full loan eligibility over the fall and spring semesters, leaving no loan funds for summer. If possible, students should reserve some of their annual federal loan eligibility for the summer.

Students may also sign up for the free Budget Payment Plan.