I already paid for my tuition this quarter, and I just now received notification that I am being awarded a Pell grant. What do I do with that money now that I've already paid for school?
ANSWER:
You should check with your financial aid office, before you plan to do anything with the money. A lot depends on how you paid for school. The Pell grant was awarded to you and that will not change, but the extra money may not actually come to you.
If your tuition was paid through state grants or through federal loans, these may be reduced or eliminated now that you received the Pell award. The money would be returned and the Pell grant would take its place, because for federal loans (and for many other grants) you may not receive more than your cost of attendance.
This is the most likely course of action your college would take if you paid for school with your own funds: the Pell grant would replace the money you had spent and the school would issue you a refund. Or they could simply pay the Pell funds to you if this amount was equal to or less than your financial need beyond your tuition, fees, room and board (which was already paid). Your cost of attendance also includes books, supplies, transportation, child care, etc.
But you do need to find out what the situation is, and how your school is handling the bookkeeping before you spend the money.
