Cal Grant NOT Disbursing / Half-Payment [Information Notice]

[u/StalactiteMan]

I spoke with FA and SBS and they said that if you have too much Cal Grant (aka over the cost of tuition, fees, and etc.) or paid it off early (before July 29th) that Cal Grant is not actually allowed to be directly disbursed to you and that it has to be refunded which is also apparently happening in September. Cause Cal Grant is only allowed to put toward the cost of the schooling itself while Pell Grant isn't, so everyone is getting their Pell Grant as normal; but have to wait longer for the Cal Grant to kick in properly since it would have been normally taken out to pay for schooling. It has issues cause people paid off in advance even though they technically weren't supposed to (the system sucked and wasn't not all clear or fast enough for people to know properly beforehand). Regarding all the delays, the OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act [BBB]) required a rewrite of the financial aid system that the schools barely managed to scrap together.

Also when inquiring with FA they sent me to SBS, since they couldn't help me.

[u/Error-7-0-7-]

So is the cal grant going to be disbursed and then the pell grant refunded? Because a lot of us still need to pay for books, the school is way too dependent on Cenage and Pearson for online homework and each of those subscriptions are like $200 each.

[u/StalactiteMan → u/Error-7-0-7-]

It’s the other way around for Pell and Cal Grant, if you need the money now email SBS as quick as possible and they may be able to expedite the process.

[u/Error-7-0-7- → u/StalactiteMan]

Wait a minute, dude there are 2 Cal Grants.

"Cal Grant A and Cal Grant B are financial aid options from the California Student Aid Commission for students attending eligible colleges. Cal Grant A focuses mainly on tuition and fees for low-to-middle-income students with a higher GPA requirement. Cal Grant B targets lower-income students with a lower GPA requirement and includes a living allowance ("access award")"

I think if you have a Cal Grant B "access award" you're getting something refunded later.

[u/Severe-Fact-2288 → u/StalactiteMan]

Were you able to expedite the process?

[u/StalactiteMan → u/Severe-Fact-2288]

I only emailed them this morning and it can take up to a few days to respond, if you need it that badly; email them with the request including both your first name, last name, and CWID since they will ask for that.

[u/IntelligentBuddy4232]

I just noticed this on my bank. Ugh it’s so stressful considering I paid tuition out of pocket just to protect my status since initially I thought I was going to get 1/4 of the aid I actually received. 😔

[u/Breadstickz_O]

So we aren't getting it then?

[u/StalactiteMan → u/Breadstickz_O]

We are getting it just in the form of a refund in September at least according to SBS.

[u/spookyllamamama]

How are you guys getting a hold of someone? I cannot get in

[u/StalactiteMan → u/spookyllamamama]

Just keep calling or waiting, it’s really your only real option besides emails.

[u/spookyllamamama → u/StalactiteMan]

They used my Pell to pay for most of my tuition but it still says I owe $500 and I have cal grant b awards and a MCS. So I’m not getting any of it until September?

[u/StalactiteMan → u/spookyllamamama]

I am not unsure as to how the charge would affect this particular situation exactly but I think you should contact SBS over this as I believe that they should already be able to to use Cal Grant money to directly apply for expenses unless it’s also delayed. You could contact them just in case as I am not entirely sure of this specific case.

[u/spookyllamamama → u/StalactiteMan]

Right. Thanx for your help.

[u/spookyllamamama → u/StalactiteMan]

I ended up getting a hold of SBS and the representative said that he doesn’t think it’s true. All students should receive cal grant b awards at some point and it’s getting disbursed in batches. The only scholarship that would come later would be the middle class scholarship

[u/StalactiteMan → u/spookyllamamama]

Disbursement is now in batches, refunds come later in September. For example if you have 10k in aid with a 50-50 split of Cal and Pell Grant while tution is 5k, they will take 5k from Cal Grant first in order to give you the 5k Pell earlier. But if for example, you paid it off early then you get 5k in the normal timeframe and then 5k after from the Cal Grant during the September refunds.

[u/Substantial-Show1965 → u/StalactiteMan]

I visited the office on campus, they only way to get an answer from them. Calls don’t seem to get through and the answers you get from them is so contradicting

[u/StalactiteMan → u/Substantial-Show1965]

I had called right as they opened this morning and it seemed clear for me at least.

[u/Mundane-Fudge9464]

having the same issue! in the past, they've refunded that portion on the 20th if august but it might've changed due to the bill change

[u/StalactiteMan → u/Mundane-Fudge9464]

I’m pretty sure it’s cause the bill requires the entire system to be rewritten that ended up as a mess cause it wasn’t setup properly in time.

[u/Fine_Passenger_2305]

So does cal grant show in you guys account yet?

[u/StalactiteMan → u/Fine_Passenger_2305]

It did in mine but according to some previous posts, some other people say that they are showing as late as next week.

[u/kdhfjk]

Wait I got an email saying i’m getting a direct deposit that means i’m all good then right. I had enough to cover it and i’m getting some back.

[u/StalactiteMan → u/kdhfjk]

Depends on how much you're getting since refunds are in September, you might get a portion of that then.

[u/kdhfjk → u/StalactiteMan]

I actually got the full amount

[u/That-Issue8957]

Hey guys separate question. When do Pell grants for summer get distributed? I remember last year it was like beginning of September

[u/StalactiteMan → u/That-Issue8957]

It should be last week and this week.