I USED THE PELL GRANT FOR GAS MONEY

The funny thing about college is, there seems to rarely be a break in planning for future classes and future funds, to just enjoy the NOW. I turned my attention to the upcoming year at EMU, and all the $$$ I would need.

(btw I just did a little jump for joy in my basement while writing this because I remember how stressful and confusing finagling all this was sometimes, and I am so happy to have gotten through it all!)

That summer I received my financial aid award letter from EMU, and my tuition was a little over $10,000, but up to $12-14,000 with fees and books and such.

I would be receiving about $6,000 through the Pell grant.

And no, I did not receive the Pell previous years, so how did I randomly get it after many years?

My age.

After a student turns 24, they are counted as an "independent student," meaning that their parents' income is no longer counted on the FAFSA. Although I still lived at home and appreciated my parents' support in that, I continued to pay for my own education and go to school full time, so I did not have as much time to work.

My income was considerably low when counted without my parents', and FAFSA was basically like, "You're below the poverty level, so here's money."

I also realized that since only my income was counted, I could have done the Go Blue Guarantee, a full-ride scholarship offered through the University of Michigan for those students (or their families before they are 24) that earned $65k or less.

A GREAT DEAL AT A GREAT SCHOOL! If I KNEW about the sweet after-24 deal, maybe I would have gone to U of M, a more prestigious university. However, I was already on track at EMU and had enough money (more on that in future blog).

It was a delightful surprise, and one that God knew in advance would be a provision for me, so I am very thankful.

I also received several hundred dollars from the Federal SEOG, which is a grant for students with the most financial need, which apparently was me.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should qualify for all these grants per se. Yes, I needed the money, but I wasn't living in poverty. I wanted money to go to people who truly truly needed it more than I might. (Although I was still pretty pleased and thankful.)

If you're in a similar situation, that's a great sentiment, but the money probably can't be redirected to another student. If it's from the government, it's generally sent to your college and ready for you. Go ahead, take that responsibility and blessing, and use it wisely.

Add all that to additional scholarships that I will discuss in a future post, and I HAD MORE MONEY THAN I NEEDED THAT YEAR. So I used some of the Pell grant for gas money(:

(I also keep a budget and donate some of my income. You can reach out to others in the same way if you feel they need additional help.)

When there is an overage in a student's account, money can sometimes be refunded to a student. If it's scholarship money that can be redirected to someone else, then I don't believe it will be handed out to the student as often, but since the grant was government funding, there was no where else for it to go except my bank account!

However, if you believe you may qualify for a refund from your school, be sure to pursue it with Financial Aid. Sometimes they are behind, don't see it, or you may need to request the refund. Don't leave it up to others... pursue that money!