<p>You only had to receive the full amount you were eligible for in a given year to use 100%. In other words, you didn’t have to receive the max Pell Grant award</p>
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<p>You DID receive the full amount of YOUR allowable Pell Grant in that year if you used 100%. You are only eligible to receive 100% of your award in an academic year, even if you choose to attend in the summer session. For a full time student, that means 2 semesters or 3 quarters. In the two years in which a student could receive summer Pell, students could actually receive up to 200% in a single year. That absolutely would accelerate lifetime usage … but the student would also be earning credits that decrease the time needed to complete a degree. That is assuming the student does not drop, fail, repeat, or take unnecessary classes. The whole point to the cap is to pay for the classes a student needs to complete a degree, but no more than that.</p>
<p>I am not saying that I agree with the cap, with the fact that it is retroactive, or with the fact that it was not originally supposed to be retroactive to “forever” & ended up being so. I have been in the financial aid business long enough to know that my opinion is not important; I have to do what I am obligated to do. However, remember that it is Congress who makes these laws. If the public is unhappy, it is important to contact members of Congress to explain your position and let them know what you think would be fair.</p>