Can I take time off from school?

[AllysonB]

I went back to school full time last fall and am really struggling right now with everything. Going through the divorce, moving, kids adjusting to everything, work, and it's just taking a big toll on me. I have the full pell grant and was planning on doing my degree in two years to get a better job. I was just wondering would I get penalized or something if I took some time off? Would I have to pay back what I have used so far? I'm sorry if this seems like a dumb question, but I really don't know what I can do.

[Jenne]

http://www.thepellgrant.com/

Hope that site helps!

Jenne

[Drummer's Wife]

You shouldn't have to pay back any pell grants - unless you were to stop midsemester and drop your classes. If you just take a semester off, you should be able to come back with no penalty. If you have student loans, they generally allow 6 months after you are out of school to start repaying, so as long as you started up again before that time was up and notified your lender that you were a student again, you should be okay with regards to loans, too. I was getting full pell grants and took 6 years off, and am now getting grants again.

[One_Girl]

You don't have to pay back grants, but it is hard to go back once you drop out. Could you go part-time instead? You get half a pell grant if you go part-time. I did this after my ex and I split up and it was nice to be able to focus on life but also escape to class. It balanced both my dd's needs and mine very nicely.

[Rosehip]

I'm not sure exactly how the grant works, but I did drop a class when I started the divorce process, had ex move out, etc.

It took me from 13 to 9 credits. I was able to drop during add/drop period, so took no academic hit, as it didn't show up on my transcript. Though at the time, I didn't know how I would keep body & soul together, having the schedule and discipline of school (with a commute) really helped get me through the divorce. I just had to keep chugging. As one professor told me - have a glass of wine once the kids were in bed, but don't fall apart. I was taking sciences with labs, so it was still fairly intense even after dropping calc. I would consider doing something similar, if possible. Scale back, but don't stop school all together. It can be very hard to get back once you've gotten completely out.

[lolar2]

Schools' specifics vary, so talk to somebody at your financial aid office.