What Happens to Your Pell Grant if You Choose to Quit School in the Middle of the School Year?

There are various scholarships available to aid you financially with the costs of your higher education. The Pell Grant is extremely helpful, given that you can receive up to $5,550 for a school year. If you have already been awarded the scholarship, you should try to make the most out of it.

Students, who have to quit school for one reason or another, should know what happens to the grant once they are no longer enrolled.

The Pell Grant is awarded by the Federal Government, but it is disbursed by the educational institution, which you are attending. Your school is obliged to pay you at least once per term.

This means that once you are enrolled in a program and awarded the grant, you will receive the money every semester, trimester, or quarter, depending on the system adopted by your school. If you decide to quit after completing a single or a number of terms during a school year, you will simply not receive the sum for the next term.

Generally, if you do not enroll for the next term, you lose the amount of the Pell Grant for it automatically. In most cases, students do not have to return any part of the sum for the previous term during which they attended classes. However, when you quit school, you will usually be asked to cover any outstanding balances.

This means that you will actually have to pay a certain amount of money if you stop attending classes. In such cases, any amount left in your pocket from the Pell Grant for the previous school term can be used for the settling of this payment.

If you decide to quit your school for good, you lose the Pell Grant and eligibility to apply for it. However, if you plan to return after a number of semesters, the situation may be different.

Provided that your school is willing to accept this arrangement, you will be able to apply for a Pell Grant after you have enrolled for classes again. You will not receive the sum you have not taken due to your leave automatically.

Keep in mind that these are just the general rules that most schools stick to. However, given that the educational institutions have the power to decide when and how the Pell Grant has disbursed the situation for you might be different.

That is why you are highly recommended to make an inquiry at your school’s financial aid office regarding your planned quitting and the payment of the grant.

The staff should be able to give you precise information regarding your particular case. They will also give you advice on what you have to do if any documents or payments are required from you.

In general, the Pell Grant you have will not be your biggest problem when quitting school. You should definitely do your best not to leave. Interrupting or quitting college can only have a negative effect on your future life and career, so think this step through before you make a final decision to make it.