Grants for Test outs!!

[jarcrocker]

I read in a letter in the TESC fin. aid pack that money will not be awarded for TECEP exams. :mad: I'm interested in anyone who has already walked the Pell Grant Rd. Does that mean that I cannot take take CLEP or DSST exams as well with the money? If I try, would they revoke my fin aid? :eek: Anyone who has experience, I would appreciate tips.....TIA!

[cookderosa]

I read in a letter in the TESC fin. aid pack that money will not be awarded for TECEP exams. :mad: I'm interested in anyone who has already walked the Pell Grant Rd. Does that mean that I cannot take take CLEP or DSST exams as well with the money? If I try, would they revoke my fin aid? :eek: Anyone who has experience, I would appreciate tips.....TIA!

>>


I rec'd a pell grant for $4500 and I took the secured student loan ($5500).

Here is how it worked:
First, you have to use it for 4 terms to get all of it (it's divided in 1/4ths no matter what).

I took a minimum of 6 class credits with TESC each term. This is a financial aid requirement, and exams don't count toward your 6. That doesn't mean you can't take them, only that they are not part of the financial aid QUALIFIER.

Now- I'm rusty on the exact $, so this is from my (aging) memory. Each semester cost around $1000, and the financial aid given to me was around $2500. So, you get a "refund" for the excess- roughly $1500. I put every penny into the bank, using only $ for books, CLEPs, TECEPs, DSSTs. (note- TECEPs are more $, so use them as a last resort!) After the full year, I had rec'd about $5500 in excess that was deposited into my savings account- I spent about $1000 on books and tests.

So, I had about $4500 left when I graduated, and I had 6 months post graduation to stash away $1000, and when my first Sallie Mae payment came, I wrote them a check for $5578 (they charged me 78 interest) and it's done.

The temptation, is to spend your student loan $, so I would just encourage you to have self-discipline and you can do this for free.

[jarcrocker]

Wow.... Thats pretty cool. So when you say 4 terms, what is that? Like a 4 semesters? How long were you in school? Was your pell grant money cumulative over school time or one application?

[cookderosa]

Wow.... Thats pretty cool. So when you say 4 terms, what is that? Like a 4 semesters? How long were you in school? Was your pell grant money cumulative over school time or one application?

>>

TESC uses quarters, there are 4 per year. It's a total of 1 academic year. Their entire program runs like that- so even if you are not getting financial aid it's still 4 quarters.

I was enrolled for 1 year. (I took several exams for about 6 months before I actually started class)

Your pell and loans are in one application. You fill out the financial aid paperwork and then you get an award letter. I don't know if this is too much and will hurt your brain, but if I were doing it again, I would try and better coordinate my year to line up with graduation filing dates....but that's really nothing to do with your question lol. At the end of 1 year, if you need a second year, you file again. Awards are always in 1/4ths. I strongly suggest only enrolling for 1 year. That second enrollment fee will eat your $$$.

For classes, you need 6 cr. minimum per semester, so 24 cr in all. Be careful to map a plan first-because you don't want to waste those precious slots on classes that have exam. For me, I picked classes "in major" and I also added classes from my local community college since TESC didn't offer enough in my major for my preferences, and I wanted them to be upper level. (classes at a second college will be out of pocket- you can't use financial aid for 2 schools- but my CC was cheap). In my mind, it is silly to pay for (and do homework for) a class like English 101 and 102 when you can test out of both in an hour for under $100.

Fill out your paperwork now, but then plan carefully before signing up for the first semester.

[CollegeStudent7]

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TESC uses quarters, there are 4 per year. It's a total of 1 academic year. Their entire program runs like that- so even if you are not getting financial aid it's still 4 quarters.

Does this still hold true? My advisor told me there are 12 semesters, so I was assuming I could start classes any month and just take appropriate amount of credits over course of 6.5 months until it's the end of the year and my full PELL will no longer be valid.