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Grants

About Grants

Georgia Highlands College offers two Grants in accordance with Federal Student Aid rules and regulations set forth by the Federal Office of Student Aid. The Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant or FSEOG are the two Grants offered by Georgia Highlands College. Under most circumstances, these grants do not have to be paid back. Grant eligibility is determined by financial need.

The U.S. Department of Education determines a student’s financial need based on a standard formula established by Congress to evaluate the financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to determine the family’s Student Aid Index or SAI (the SAI is the amount used to determine how much funding the student and family are able to provide toward the cost of the student’s education).

Pell Grants

*Pell Grant awards are based on the following: Student Aid Index (SAI), Cost of Attendance (COA) or Budget amount, the student’s enrollment status (number of credit hours enrolled), and remaining Pell Lifetime Eligibility Usage (LEU).

The Pell Grant (or any other federal financial aid) cannot be received by more than one Institution during the same semester. Federal funds will need to be removed at the other Institution(s) and charges will be owed back to the Institution(s) by the student if this occurs.  The Institution which disburses Pell (or any other federal financial aid) onto the student’s account first is where the student will be eligible for that aid.

The exception to the above rule is if a student is enrolled as a transient at another college.  Then different rules will apply regarding Federal and State aid.

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*Starting with the 2425 FAFSA, financial aid offers will be determined by the SAI (Student Aid Index) instead of the EFC (Expected Family Contribution).

The amount of Pell Grant funds that are disbursed will be determined by your SAI and your enrollment status (Pell Grant offers are split in half between two semesters and will decrease by a percentage rate based on your enrollment status):

  • If you’re registered for 12 or more credit hours in a semester, you will receive 100% of the Pell Grant offer allowed for the semester.
  • If you’re registered for less than 12 credit hours in a semester, your Pell Grant offer will decrease by a percentage rate per credit hour based on the established Federal Pell Grant Intensity Chart (example:  student is eligible for $3,698 in Pell for one semester and registered for 6 credit hours-they will get 50% of the Pell offer which would be $1,849).

GHC offers courses that are 1 credit hour, 2 credit hours, 3 credit hours, and 4 credit hours. Financial aid offers are based on credit hours, not the number of classes you are taking, so be aware of how many credit hours you are registered for and not just the number of classes.

FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID DISBURSEMENTS-IMPORTANT!

Please be aware that you may NOT be eligible for more federal financial aid funds (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS) if you add additional classes in the semester after you’ve already received federal financial aid funding:

1.Student not registered for any classes, no federal financial aid funds disbursed and then adds one or more classes after the enrollment freeze date:

    • Eligible for federal financial aid funds (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS)

2.Student already started Full- and/or 1st Session classes, federal financial aid funds disbursed and then adds one or more classes after the enrollment freeze date:

    • Not eligible for any additional federal financial aid funds for classes added after enrollment freeze date (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS)

3.Schedule got deleted through no fault of the student and then student is added back to the exact same classes after enrollment freeze date:

    • Eligible for federal financial aid funds depending on the situation (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS)

4.Student schedule got deleted through no fault of their own (federal financial aid funds disbursed) and then student is added back to different classes after enrollment freeze date (example: exact same schedule is added back but one class is different):

    • Not eligible for federal financial aid funds for any classes that are different (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS) but can get federal aid for the exact same classes they had before

5.Student registers for classes where they have a “part one” class and then a “part two” (example: English 1101-1st 10 weeks and then English 1102 2nd 10 weeks). Then it is found student is not eligible to take English 1101:

    • Both classes deleted and federal financial aid funds will be removed for both classes (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS)

6.Student is registered for classes before the enrollment freeze date and working on Verification or another financial aid process that didn’t get completed before the enrollment freeze date:

    • Can receive any federal financial aid funds they are eligible for based on enrollment previous to enrollment freeze date once the processes are completed (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS)

*The above scenarios only apply to students who receive federal financial aid funds (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS).

-Students can still receive State Aid and Scholarships such as HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship, and GHC Institutional Scholarships if eligible so the above enrollment freeze rules do not apply for these funds.  It only applies to federal financial aid funds (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS).

-There could also be additional scenarios not listed above so students should make a ticket to finaid@highlands.edu with any questions or concerns about adding classes and federal financial aid funding eligibility (Pell Grant, SEOG if applicable, federal loans-Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS)..

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

A Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is for Undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. FSEOG does not have to be paid back. These funds are awarded to Pell Grant recipients with the lowest Student Aid Index (SAI) . Because FSEOG funds are limited, it is vital that you complete your FAFSA as soon as possible. FSEOG requires you to be a Pell Grant recipient. FSEOG awards are not guaranteed to all students. GHC has a limited allotment of federal funds and limits the number of students who are awarded.

*Starting with the 2425 FAFSA, financial aid offers will be determined by the SAI (Student Aid Index) instead of the EFC (Expected Family Contribution).