March 2012 - West Virginia Northern Community College

WVNCC Financial Aid Updates
Lifetime Pell Grant Eligibility
March 2012
Effective 2012-2013 School Year
Special points of
interest:
 2012-2013 Pell
Grant Changes
 Federal Direct
Loan Changes
effective July 1,
2012
 2012-2013
FAFSA on the
Web Workshops
 Financial Aid
Satisfactory
Academic
Progress
Reminders (SAP)
 Summer Aid
In December 2011, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74). This law has significantly impacted the Pell Grant Program. Beginning in Fall 2012, Students are now limited to 12 semesters (or 600%) of
Pell Grant eligibility during their lifetime. This change affects all students regardless of
when or where they received their first Pell Grant. Students that are currently receiving the Pell Grant in the academic year 2011-2012 and have already used 600% of
their Pell Grant eligibility will no longer be eligible to receive a Pell Grant starting Fall
2012.
Who does this affect? – Everyone!
 If you have attended college for *4 years or longer,* receiving the Pell Grant each
year, you are likely to exhaust or have already exhausted your lifetime limit of 12
semesters of Pell Grant eligibility during the 2012-2013 school year.**
 If you have attended college and received the Pell Grant for *3 years or less* you
will likely not surpass the lifetime limit during the 2012-2013 school year.**
 Whether you have used all of your Pell Grant eligibility or only half, please be
conscious about the lifetime limit of the Pell Grant when changing majors and/or
scheduling classes.
Inside this issue:
Pell Grant
Questions
2
Financial Aid
Office Contacts
2
Student Loan
Changes
3
**Please remember that if you received Year Round Pell in the 2009/2010 or
2010/2011 school years, you may have used 200% in one year, or 400% between the
2 years.
Need HELP completing the 2012-2013 FAFSA?
Attend one of the following FAFSA on the Web Workshops!
Lifetime Loan Limits 3
Summer Aid
4
Verification
Changes
4
Satisfactory Academic Progress
4
Weirton
Wheeling
New Martinsville
April 2
Rm 134
11:30 a.m.—3:30 p.m.
April 4
Rm 219B 10 a.m.—12 p.m.
Rm 418E 3 p.m.—5 p.m.
April 5
Rm 210
10 a.m.—12 p.m.
1:30 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
Remember to bring the following documents:
1)
2)
Student and spouse/parents’ (if applicable) 2011 IRS Tax Forms and W-2s;
Student and spouse/parents’ (if applicable) 2011 documentation of any untaxed income;
Don’t Forget Student and Parent (if applicable) PIN numbers to Sign Your FAFSA Electronically!
* PIN numbers can be obtained at www.pin.ed.gov
Page 2
Pell Lifetime Eligibility continued….
Questions

Can I see my lifetime Pell Grant used?
 You may view your Pell Grant used by logging into www.NSLDS.ed.gov. The National
Student Loan Data System has information about your federal student loans and Pell Grant
awards.
Below is a sample screen shot of NSLDS:

How is the percentage used calculated?
The percentages are based off the annual award at fulltime enrollment status.
 For students with an annual award for 2011-2012 academic year, at the maximum award, $5,550 and attended 12 or more credits each semester (Fall and
Spring for example), the percentage used for the 2011-2012 academic year is
100%. If you only attended 9 credits each semester, your percentage used for
the academic year is 75%.

I have questions about this, who do I call?
Our Financial Aid Office Staff or your Campus Counselor are available to discuss the change in the lifetime Pell Grant eligibility with you. Please call or e-
How to Contact the WVNCC Financial Aid Office
New Martinsville Campus: 304-455-4684 Ext. 8844
Weirton Campus: 304-723-2210 Ext. 8844
Wheeling Campus: 304-233-5900 Ext. 8844
E-mail: finaid@mail.wvncc.edu
Janet Fike, VP of Student Services/Director of Financial Aid, jfike@wvncc.edu
Alicia Frey, Associate Director of Financial Aid, afrey@wvncc.edu
Kelly Herr, Project Coordinator, kherr@wvncc.edu
Kim Hart, Financial Aid Assistant, khart@wvncc.edu
Sarah Griffith, Financial Aid Assistant, sgriffith@wvncc.edu
Page 3
Federal Direct Loan Changes
Students who receive subsidized Student Loans on and
after July 1, 2012, and prior to
July 1, 2014, must pay interest
that accrues during the sixmonth grace period. If not paid,
the accrued interest will be
capitalized (added to the principal balance of the loan).
What does this mean? Many
students will enter repayment
with higher loan balances
based on the capitalization of
interest accrued during the
grace period.
Effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012,
the law eliminates the authority
of the Department of Education
to offer any repayment incentives to Direct Loan borrowers
to encourage on-time repayment of loans, including any
reduction in the interest rate or
origination fee. As a result, the
up-front interest rebate that has
been provided to Direct Loan
borrowers at the time of loan
disbursement will not be offered on any Direct Loan with a
first disbursement date that is
on or after July 1,2012. The law
continues to authorize the De-
partment to offer interest
rate reductions to Direct
Loan borrowers who agree
to have payments automatically electronically
debited.
Federal Direct Loan Interest
Rate for 2012-2013:
6.8% Fixed
Subsidized and Unsubsidized
“The average
Aggregate (Lifetime) Loan Limits
There are limits on the maximum amount you are eligible to
receive in total (aggregate loan
limits) as an undergraduate*
student. The actual amount you
can borrow each year depends
on your year in school, whether
you are a dependent or independent student, and other
factors. Check NSLDS** to
see what you have borrowed
before you complete your next
loan application!
Aggregate Loan Limits
Dependent Students
$31,000
Independent Students
$57,500
undergraduate
*Definition of an
Undergraduate: a student at
a college or university who
has not yet received a
bachelor's-level degree.
leaves college
with $24,000
in debt—that’s
$276 a month
out of every
paycheck for
If your goal is to obtain a
Bachelor’s degree and you
are close to or have already
exceeded these limits, you
may have to pay out of
pocket to finish your degree.
10 years.” - Bill
Pratt”s Extra Credit: The 7 Things
Every College Student Needs to
Know About Credit, Debt & Cash
(2nd Edition, 2008)
NSLDS—National Student Loan Data System
www.nslds.ed.gov
The National Student
Loan Data System has
information about your
federal student loans and
Pell grant history.
To review your information, you
will need:

Social Security Number

First 2 letters of your last
name

Your date of birth

Personal Identification
Number (PIN) The Pin assigned to you when you
completed the FAFSA
NSLDS Disclaimer:
Information contained on these
pages reflects the most current
data in the NSLDS database.
The data contained on this site
is for general information purposes and should not be used
to determine final eligibility,
loan payoffs, overpayment status, or tax reporting. Please
consult the Financial Aid Officer
at your school or the specific
holder of your debts for further
information.
Applications available on-line, Campus Service Centers, or the
Financial Aid Office
2012-2013 Scholarship Applications
are available
Financial Aid Available for Summer 2012
If you are a West Virginia resident with at least a 2.00 GPA and will be part-time for the
Summer 2012 semester you may qualify for the WV HEAPS Grant. This specific grant
will cover tuition only. Applications are available at all three campus Service Centers
and the Financial Aid Office. If you have already submitted a WV HEAPS Grant application for the 2011-12 school year you do not need to submit an additional application.
Scholarships are still available for the Summer semester. You need to submit the 20112012 scholarship application, a letter of reference, and an essay described within the
application. The scholarship application is available at all three campus Service Centers
and the Financial Aid Office.
If you were a Pell Grant recipient for the 2011-12 school year and were full-time Fall
2011 and Spring 2012 you will not have Pell Grant available for the Summer 2012 semester. If you were a part-time student during the Fall 2011 and/or Spring 2012 semesters, then you may have Pell grant eligibility for the Summer semester. We will automatically set up any Summer grant eligibility once you register for Summer classes but
you may inquire with the Financial Aid Office.
Verification Changes for the 2012 -13 School Year
(Only required if selected for verification)
If you are selected for verification for the 2012-13
school year and did not use
the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
on the 2012-13 FAFSA, you
are required to submit a
2011 IRS Tax Return Transcript. To request the IRS
Tax Transcript you have
three options:
Online: www.irs.gov
Telephone: 1-800-908-9946
Download and mail IRS
Form 4506T-EZL:
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pub/
f4506tez.pdf
Submission of your 2011
Federal Tax Form (1040,
1040A, 1040EZ) is no longer acceptable for verification purposes.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Reminders
To receive financial aid semester after semester you must
continuously maintain the following requirements:
1) Maintain a cumulative (overall) GPA of a 2.0,
2) Successfully complete 67% of all attempted coursework hours, and
3) Progress towards completing your degree within the
150% maximum time frame*.
Appeals are available if not meeting SAP
*150% Maximum Time Frame

If working on a Certificate program, you can
attempt 45 credit hours.

If working on an Associates degree, you can
attempt 90 credit hours.
Remember, when receiving financial aid, you can only
take courses that are required for your program based on
the catalog year you began your program.