DISCOVER COLLEGE EARLY COLLEGE DETERMINATION GROWTH COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDING KNOWLEDGE PELL PARENT GUIDE HIGHER EDUCATION BEGINS HERE CONFIDENCE INDEPENDENCE SUCCESS EARLY COLLEGE ~ PELL EXPERIMENT KENTUCKY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
Thanks for considering Owensboro Community & Technical College and this opportunity. This is a new program, so we have tried to cover a lot of material in this guide, but please don t hesitate to reach out to any of our staff for clarification or any additional questions. We are here to work with you and make this a great experience for your student. What is the Pell Experiment? OCTC applied for and was one of the schools selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in this three year program. For the first time current high school students will be allowed to use Pell Grant funds to pay for college while they are still in high school. What is a Pell Grant and what is the amount my high school student can potentially receive? A Pell Grant is made available by the U.S. Department of Education federal student aid program. It is awarded to eligible undergraduate students. Eligibility is based on student need. For the 2017-2018 academic year, the total grant could be as much as $5,920. What is a FAFSA and why does my high school student need to file one? FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid available at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The Financial Aid Office at OCTC would be happy to assist you with filing it. The FAFSA asks for biographical (e.g., social security number, date of birth, address) and financial information. This information is required to determine if a student is eligible for the Pell Grant program.
What is the deadline for filing a FAFSA? Students planning to attend OCTC in the fall must complete the FAFSA by July 15. For students planning to attend OCTC in the spring, the FAFSA must be completed by December 15. Since federal financial aid has previously only been an option for high school or GED graduates, how is my high school student able to file a FAFSA and be considered for a Pell Grant? Owensboro Community and Technical College was recently approved for an experimental program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to offer Pell Grants to eligible high school students. We are one of 43 of colleges/universities in the nation currently offering this program. What is a SAR and why is this important in determining my high school student s Pell Grant eligibility? A SAR is a Student Aid Report. You will receive a SAR via e-mail address you provided on your FAFSA. The SAR will indicate whether or not you are eligible to receive Pell Grant funds. You should review your SAR carefully to check for any possible errors or any additional information required. Once you have reviewed your SAR and addressed any potential issues, you will be notified of your award. What is the difference between a Pell Grant and a student loan? Is my high school student eligible for both? The federal government awards both Pell Grants and student loans; however, Pell Grants do not have to be repaid as long as students attend the entire semester as planned. Student loans are just that they are loans, and must be repaid. Under the terms of this experimental initiative, high school students filing a FAFSA are only eligible for consideration to receive Pell Grant funds. High school students are not eligible to apply for student loans.
How will my high school student receive the funds from the Pell Grant? Funds are distributed by the U.S. Department of Education to colleges. Once tuition is paid to OCTC from those funds, any remaining balance of the Pell award will be refunded to the student via the KCTCS Easy Refund Program (in partnership with BankMobile VIBE). More information on aid disbursement can be provided by the OCTC Financial Aid Office. My high school student is only receiving a partial Pell Grant. What can I do to cover the remaining costs? If your high school student only receives partial Pell, and you anticipate difficulty in covering remaining expenses, you have options. First, OCTC will cover the cost of any remaining tuition. Second, participating high schools may be able to assist with purchasing books. Additional scholarships may be available. More information is available from the OCTC Financial Aid Office. If my high school student does not qualify for a full Pell Grant, can he/she be considered for the work study program? Unfortunately, high school students are not eligible for the Work Study program. The only federal funds for high school students at this time are for those who are Pell eligible. Will the credits my high school student earns at OCTC count towards graduation at both the high school and the college? In most instances, yes. Students will take college courses to fulfill many of their high school requirements. In addition, students will take some courses for college credit only so that they can complete the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree by the end of their senior year of high school.
Will my high school student s KEES money be impacted in any way if they enroll in the Pell Grant program? High school students enrolled at OCTC do not have the opportunity to earn KEES money through college courses unless the high school is counting the course as dual credit on the high school transcript. Any KEES money earned by high school students may be used upon high school graduation for future educational endeavors, but not during their continuing status as high school students. If my high school student receives a Pell Grant as a high school student, will that impact his/her eligibility for other scholarships in the future? It will not impede or prevent your high school student from being considered for other scholarships for which he/she may be eligible, both now and in the future. Does my high school student have to declare a major in order to be eligible for the Pell Grant program, and how many courses must he/she take? Your high school student must pursue an Associate in Arts or an Associate in Science degree. In addition, your high school student must be a full time college student at OCTC, which means he/she must be enrolled in no fewer than 12 credit hours per semester. We recommend taking 15 to 16 hours per semester to stay on track for completing an associate degree by high school graduation. Does my high school student have to maintain a certain GPA to remain in the Pell Grant program? Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of a 2.0 to retain Pell Grant eligibility. Does a Pell Grant cover the costs of books and other fees associated with college that my high school student might incur? Once tuition is paid from the Pell Grant, any additional funds will be awarded to the student to cover additional costs associated with attending college, such as books and other materials. Does my high school student have to be a full time student at OCTC in order to be eligible for the Pell Grant program? Yes. Your high school student must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester at OCTC to be considered for this program.
College courses are offered at my student s high school. Why does my student have to come to the OCTC campus in order to be eligible for this program? In accordance with the terms of this program, your high school student must attend classes that are offered at the campuses of OCTC. Your student will benefit from the college experience and this is an integral part of the program. If my high school student is eligible for a Pell Grant now, would he/she be eligible for a Pell Grant after they graduate from high school? For all students who are Pell eligible, whether high school or traditional college students, each individual student is allotted six full years of Pell funds. As a high school student enrolling in this program, you are simply accessing your Pell funds earlier. The Pell Grant funds received by a student under this experiment are not extra or additional Pell funds. The federal government designed the Pell program for undergraduate studies, and students must file a FAFSA each academic year. Pell eligibility is always determined by a student s financial situation, so if this changes, eligibility for Pell might change also. If my high school student is not eligible for a Pell Grant now, could he/she be eligible for a Pell Grant after they graduate from high school? Since students must file a FAFSA each academic year, a student who is ineligible for a Pell Grant at this time may be eligible at a later date. This might occur if there are changes to your financial situation which can alter the results of your SAR, as determined by the FAFSA. What would happen if my high school student decides to withdraw from OCTC and the Pell Grant program after we have received the funds? Pell Grant funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire semester in which a grant is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Pell funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive. High school students who receive Pell funds and decide to withdraw from classes after funds have been disbursed may be responsible for returning those funds to the U.S. Department of Education via OCTC.
With dozens of student organizations, clubs and sctivities, there s something for everyone at OCTC. OCTC has many opportunities for students to participate in civic engagement activities. From live music to free food and giveaways, OCTC s student activities are all about making the college experience fun and meaningful. GET INVOLVED! BE SUCCESSFUL! FRIENDSHIP SUCCESS MOTIVATION NETWORKING SERVICE FUN INTEGRITY INVOLVEMENT CHALLENGE CITIZENSHIP STUDENT CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS Student Government Association (SGA) Speech & Debate Society Art Club SAFE Cyber Consultants Hager Scholars Oak Island Players PRE PROFESSIONAL CLUBS Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Nursing Students Organization Phi Theta Kappa Psi Beta Radiography Club Lambda Nu Vet Tech Club
OCTC is an equal educational and employment opportunity institution. 1/2018 For more information contact Dr. Andrea Borregard, 270-686-4521 or andrea.borregard@kctcs.edu