"Woelfe" <woelfe_den.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:xO9Zc.348458$%_6.332876@attbi_s01:
>
> <emm3255.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns9556A77521F5Bemm3255yahoocom@216.196.97.136...
> I received a letter from PHEAA (the
>> state of Pennsylvania's higher education agency) in May informing me
>> that
> I
>> had been awarded a state grant for $450 for both the Fall 2003 and
>> Spring 2004 semesters. However, my school's award letter, which I
>> received sometime in late July, had no mention anywhere of the state
>> grant.
>
> Some schools may not add the award until they receive a notification
> from the state org that the grant is available, while some will
> estimate it (if possible) and include it.
>
> My experience with state grants is usually that they are very late
> getting set up for some. Mass Grant money usually doesn't arrive
> until Oct-Nov time frame but we usually know who they are ahead of
> time.
>
> If you have an award letter from PHEA I would suggest giving a copy to
> the FA office and ask them to verify and add it to your package.
>
>> As you can see, my subsidized, not my unsubsidized, Stafford loan was
>> reduced when my school applied the state grants to my account. So
>> even though I was eligible for the max subsidized Stafford loan for a
>> freshman of $2625, I only ended up getting $1950. Is this supposed to
>> happen?
>
> It can, yes. What happens is the financial aid office has to have a
> COA (cost of attendance) for you and cannot award aid beyond this
> budget; this is called over-awarding. What they do is reduce loans
> first before they reduce grants. So even if you are eligible for X
> amount of loan money, you can't receive any portion of it that would
> exceed the total of your COA.
I understand that my financial aid cannot exceed the cost of attendence.
My question was whether or not that reduction should have come from my
*subsidized* Stafford instead of my *unsubsidized* Stafford.
The state grant, when it was added by my school, was returned to the
state to avoid the overaward. I have no problem with that. What I don't
understand is why that money was used to pay down my subsidized Stafford
instead of my unsubsidized Stafford.
>>
>> Am I allowed to request a reduction of my unsubsidized Stafford from
>> $1773 to $973 in each semester in order to avoid the same situation?
>
> Once again, if you have an award letter from PHEA it is probably a
> good idea to give them (FA Office) a copy and request they add to your
> package ahead of time and reset your loans accordingly.
If I were able to reduce the amount I take from the unsubsidized
Stafford by the amount of the state grant, I would avoid going over the
COA when the grant is applied to my account. Thus, at least in theory, I
could avoid having my subsidized Stafford reduced like it was last year.
I want to know whether or not that is allowed.
>>
>> Thank you for any help you can offer.
>
> No worries!
I wish
Thanks for your help.
>> Stay informed about: Problems with PHEAA state grants and their effect on my St.. 
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