Year-Round Pell Grants Available for Summer

Third disbursement may be available; contact Financial Aid office to apply

Parkland College students eligible for the Pell Grant may be able to receive a third disbursement of the award, based on a recent Department of Education announcement.

Students who already received a full Pell Grant during the fall and spring semesters may now qualify for "Year-round Pell" and thus receive a full Pell Grant during the summer semester as well, the DOE reported.

Year-round Pell allows students to receive up to 150 percent of a regular grant award over the course of the academic year, so that they can continue taking classes in the summer and finish their degrees faster than they would otherwise. With careful planning, Pell Grant recipients may take advantage of this new regulation to earn their degree faster.

According to the new regulation, any Pell Grant received over the summer will be included in determining the student's Pell Grant lifetime limit.

To be eligible for the additional Pell Grant funds, a student:

• must be otherwise eligible to receive Pell Grant funds for the payment period
• must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credit hours) during the summer term
• must be maintaining satisfactory academic progress

Students who have been awarded Pell Grants for the 2017‐2018 academic year are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid office at 217/351-2222 or finaid@parkland.edu for assistance with summer 2018 financial planning.