Monday, September 14th, 2009

can you get pell grants and use them for online classes?

I am just starting classes with Penn Foster, and was just wanting to know if you can get grants to help cover the costs?

Penn Foster is not a Title IV federal aid participant, and therefore students registered for Penn Foster courses are not eligible to apply for any federal student aid funding – this includes pell grants, Stafford and Perkins loans, PLUS loans, work-study, and FSEOG and SMART grants.

I’m not going to badmouth Penn Foster, but I will say that I would hope that you have carefully researched and evaluated all of your options before choosing PF, or any other online university. Schools that do not participate in the Title IV aid programs are sending up a pretty large red flag, because it’s really in the school’s best interest to offer this type of aid to its students.

You need to be certain that any online program that you attend is accredited by a reputable accreditation agency (anyone can set up an accreditation agency and start claiming that "we’re accredited by the Agency for The World’s Best Colleges and Universities"). It would be a shame to pay a lot of money for a degree that wasn’t accepted or held in high regard by employers in your industry.

Good luck to you. I hope this information helped.

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2 Responses to “can you get pell grants and use them for online classes?”

NotAnyoneYouKnow Says:
September 14th, 2009 at 9:33 am

Penn Foster is not a Title IV federal aid participant, and therefore students registered for Penn Foster courses are not eligible to apply for any federal student aid funding – this includes Pell Grants, Stafford and Perkins loans, PLUS loans, work-study, and FSEOG and SMART grants.

I’m not going to badmouth Penn Foster, but I will say that I would hope that you have carefully researched and evaluated all of your options before choosing PF, or any other online university. Schools that do not participate in the Title IV aid programs are sending up a pretty large red flag, because it’s really in the school’s best interest to offer this type of aid to its students.

You need to be certain that any online program that you attend is accredited by a reputable accreditation agency (anyone can set up an accreditation agency and start claiming that "we’re accredited by the Agency for The World’s Best Colleges and Universities"). It would be a shame to pay a lot of money for a degree that wasn’t accepted or held in high regard by employers in your industry.

Good luck to you. I hope this information helped.
References :

Cindy Brady Says:
September 14th, 2009 at 9:53 am

It is better to attain your college education from a real school such as xx State University than to go to a unknown school such as PF, or Vatterott, "nicknamed: Better Not", or any of the "quickie colleges".
Even a Vo-Tech school or a Community College recognized by the State Department of Education is better for 99% of degrees out there.
If you do not heed this advice you can become like my cousin and pay over 30 thousand a year in tuition only to discover that your credits will not transfer to a real State College. (Particularly a Title IV capable school). Not only are those "quickie" colleges costly, they are not officially recognized as legitimate by Most Employers.
A Computer Science Degree is much better if it comes from a recognized university or college such as Kansas University (KU) or Kansas State University (KSU).
References :

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