Why did NJIT award me Pell Grant but Monmouth University didn't? FAFSA confusion
Super confused about Pell Grants right now... I was under the impression that if you qualify for a Pell Grant, ALL schools you apply to would award it? We got a $740 Pell Grant in our financial aid package from NJIT, but looking at Monmouth University's offer, there's no Pell Grant listed anywhere. Instead, they gave us something called a "Green Lawn Grant" for $5100 annually on top of the merit scholarship. Could the Pell be hidden inside this Green Lawn Grant somehow? The difference in aid packages between schools is making my head spin. Does anyone know if schools can just decide not to award Pell Grants even if FAFSA says you qualify? Any insights appreciated!
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Jeremiah Brown
That sounds weird. Pell Grants are federal, not school-specific. If your SAI qualifies you for Pell at one school, you should qualify everywhere. Call Monmouth's financial aid office ASAP. The Green Lawn Grant is probably their institutional aid, totally separate from federal Pell.
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JacksonHarris
•Ugh, I was afraid of that. I've been trying to reach their financial aid office for THREE DAYS now. Either busy signals or being put on hold forever. So frustrating!
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Royal_GM_Mark
maybe its just an error on their award letter? i had something similar happen with rutgers last yr. they left off my pell grant in the first letter then sent a revised one 2 weeks later with it added
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JacksonHarris
•That gives me hope! Did you have to contact them to get it fixed or did they just notice the error themselves?
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Royal_GM_Mark
•i called like 6 times before i got through lol then they fixed it pretty quick after that
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Amelia Cartwright
Financial aid counselor here. This is definitely unusual and worth investigating. Pell Grants are federal funds determined solely by your SAI score, not by the school. If your SAI qualifies you for Pell (even the minimum $740), all Title IV participating schools should include it. Possible explanations: 1) It could be a simple oversight in their award letter 2) They might have mislabeled it within another category 3) There could be a discrepancy in how your FAFSA was processed at different schools I would recommend contacting Monmouth's financial aid office directly to ask about this specific issue. Have your SAI number ready when you call.
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JacksonHarris
•Thank you for this detailed explanation! This confirms what I thought - Pell should be universal if you qualify. I've been trying to reach their office but keep getting stonewalled with long hold times.
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Amelia Cartwright
•I understand your frustration with hold times - they're particularly bad this time of year at many schools. If you're having trouble getting through, try emailing them with a very specific subject line mentioning "Missing Pell Grant in Financial Aid Package" and include your student ID number. Sometimes that can get faster attention than phone calls.
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Chris King
FAFSA IS SO ANNOYING!!! I had a similar issue when comparing aid packages. Turned out one school just "forgot" to include my Pell Grant and suddenly added $4000 more aid when I questioned them about it. ALWAYS question your aid packages and make them explain EVERYTHING. They hope students don't know enough to ask questions!!
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JacksonHarris
•Wow, $4000 is a huge difference! That makes me even more determined to get answers. Did you have to fight hard to get them to correct it?
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Chris King
•YES!! Took like 3 weeks of constant calls and emails. When they finally fixed it they acted like it was no big deal. But $4000 is LITERALLY the difference between me attending or not. The whole system is broken!!
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Rachel Clark
my daughter just went thru this exact thing with different schools. turned out monmouth had made an error. the financial aid person said they're overwhelmed with the new fafsa system this year.
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Zachary Hughes
I had trouble with my Pell Grant showing up differently at various schools too. After days of trying to reach someone at financial aid, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a financial aid rep in under 10 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I finally spoke with someone, they explained that sometimes the Pell Grant gets packaged differently in their system, but I was definitely still eligible. They sent me a revised aid letter the next day with the Pell Grant correctly listed.
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JacksonHarris
•Thanks for the tip! I'm definitely going to check this out. At this point I'll try anything to actually speak to a human being who can explain what's happening with my aid package.
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Mia Alvarez
The Green Lawn Grant is Monmouth's institutional grant aid - I got one too. It's separate from federal aid programs like Pell. From what the financial aid counselor told me, they determine that amount based on need and merit combined. But you should still be getting your Pell separately if you qualify based on your SAI score.
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JacksonHarris
•That's really helpful to know! So the Green Lawn Grant isn't replacing the Pell Grant - they should be separate line items. Definitely going to follow up on this.
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Royal_GM_Mark
whats ur SAI number? if its right on the border for pell eligibility maybe different schools interpret it differently????
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Amelia Cartwright
•Good question, but schools don't actually interpret SAI differently. The SAI (Student Aid Index) is calculated by the federal system, and Pell eligibility is determined by federal guidelines, not by individual schools. If the SAI qualifies for Pell at one school, it qualifies at all Title IV institutions. This is why the situation described seems unusual and likely represents an error in the award letter rather than a difference in interpretation.
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JacksonHarris
UPDATE: Finally got through to Monmouth's financial aid office! You all were right - it was an error on their part. They said with the new FAFSA system this year, some of the federal aid wasn't automatically populating in their award letters. They're sending me a revised package that includes the $740 Pell Grant. The Green Lawn Grant is staying too - it's their institutional aid. Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement to follow up on this!
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Jeremiah Brown
•Glad you got it sorted out! Always pays to question these things. Congrats on the additional aid!
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Chris King
•SEE I KNEW IT!! This happens ALL THE TIME. Good for you for staying on them about it!
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