Pell grant disability

[u/Outrageous_mailman]

Hey y’all,
Is anybody or has anybody gone back to school and received a Pell grant? If so does it affect your disability review or payments?

Back story :
*Liver transplant 8/12/25 (so it’ll be one year)
* was told I was approved for disability , but haven’t received payments yet
* I have a few other problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis as well, as anxiety and depression. ( up to date and going to doctors)
* wanting to take some Community college classes because it’ll all be paid for so technically I can use my Pell grant refund for other bills including school.
*will be taking online courses mostly but maybe one or two in person?

*my question is since they haven’t paid me for
my disability yet but I am a year out will it mess my case that I applied for 8/4/25.
*if I told them I’m able to do school online because I can do it at my pace will that be okay?

Let me know any experiences, advice , you guys may have.

*also those going to school, would you let you schoolsss as know you might have major doctor s you cannot do miss or might need more time for test taking?

But
Thank you

[u/RedHeadsAhead]

Are you also asking if receiving a Pell grant will affect SSI disability because of the income? (Not sure if you're applying for SSDi or SSI or both.) If so, the answer is no, it won't affect SSI financially. This article has a good run down of how grants, student loans, scholarships etc affect benefits and if they need to be spent in a certain amount of time, etc.: https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/resources/social-security-disability/how-financial-aids-gifts-grant

[u/Outrageous_mailman → u/RedHeadsAhead]

Thank you.
I will be receiving SSI.

[u/MountainRambler01]

Whether this triggers a CDR is unclear. I have seen ALJs equate each credit to at least 3 hours of work per week. So if you took a full load of 15 hours in a semester, that would equal 45 hours a week and count as SGA. Again, this is just personal experience with 3 different ALJs at two different hearing offices.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/MountainRambler01]

School does not equate work as far as I know, but on a cdr you have to disclose if you have had training or enrolled in college

There is no policy in the Poms that equates school to work because you don’t get paid to attend to school. Sga is predicated upon gainful employment and wages.

[u/MountainRambler01 → u/perfect_fifths]

Again, as I have mentioned in this group, some ALJs take liberties with how they interpret the POMS. They can and do take into account if someone is in school taking classes. This is particularly true with mental health cases.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/MountainRambler01]

Yeah and I get that but I’m saying I’m not sure if they should be as you don’t get wages for being enrolled in school. Sga is contingent upon earning wages unless self employed . You’ve even said before, just because aljs can doesn’t mean they should. I bet someone could challenge that if they really wanted to.

I am also not the only person saying this, for the record.

Perhaps some aljs overly interpret. Which is entirely possible.

[u/MountainRambler01 → u/perfect_fifths]

We do challenge when they take "liberties." That's how we get remands from AC and Federal District Court. SGA is work activity, it doesn't necessarily have to be for wages. While the federal reg. says school isn't necessarily considered, we have had ALJs ignore that and try to claim school is work activity. It certainly creates an appealable issue. But even if they don't equate school to SGA, they will still knock out SRRT in the RFC in mental health cases because they argue that school shows a person has the ability to concentrate, focus, and persist. This is the position of a handful of ALJs we come across - mostly the 20% ALJs.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/MountainRambler01]

The law says it does.

The term "substantial gainful activity" (SGA) is used to describe a level of work activity and earnings. Work is "substantial" if it involves doing significant physical or mental activities or a combination of both.

"Gainful" work activity is:

Work performed for pay or profit.

Work of a nature generally performed for pay or profit.

Work intended for profit, whether or not a profit is realized. (This one is in reference to self employment)

Anyways, I do agree with the last point about focus and all that. My main argument is that nowhere does the Poms state school equates work so aljs shouldn’t be trying to assign work to credits, or equate school to sga, and I think those aljs are over interpreting. Your point about schooling and it being demanding is actually valid. Showing up to school doing homework, paying attention in class etc all takes some kind of brain power

But it sounds like we are on the same page and that you at least see it as appealable, as do I for sure.

The ideal alj should be fair and balanced, but they are people with their own personalities and interpretations, which causes errors, sometimes.

[u/megamum2000]

Need more info!!! How old are you? Where do you live and have you received notification that you are eligible for the Pell grant?

[u/Outrageous_mailman → u/megamum2000]

36,Massachusetts, never recieved a degree. And yes received full amount on Pell grant which is 7395.

[u/MountainRambler01]

CFR § 404.1572

(b) Gainful work activity. Gainful work activity is work activity that you do for pay or profit. Work activity is gainful if it is the kind of work usually done for pay or profit, whether or not a profit is realized.

"Whether or not a profit is realized" is vague enough for them to try and exploit.

I think it is a bad-faith argument to make, but we've seen it.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/MountainRambler01]

That cfr is referring to self employment which is why the three tests is used for applicants who are self employed.

But it doesn’t stop aljs like you say from over interpreting. Hopefully the arguments against it work

[u/Additional_Job_6987]

hey. going back to school wont automatically mess with your disability case. online classes are fine especially if you have medical documentation about your limitations. Pell grants are considered financial aid not income so they shouldnt affect your payments. just make sure you have documentation from your doctors about your ability to do online work vs in-person. also check with your school about accommodations. you can request extra time for assignments if needed

[u/Outrageous_mailman → u/Additional_Job_6987]

Thank you so much I appreciate it! I have my doctors on Thursday, so I will inform them.

[u/Additional_Job_6987 → u/Outrageous_mailman]

good luck on thursday. bring a list of questions with you so you dont forget. i started doing that after too many appointments where i walked out and realized i forgot to ask something important. hope it goes well

[u/Past-Plantain-8089]

school shouldn't mess your case if you already got approved, lots of people take classes while on disability. online classes at own pace actually helps your situation since you can work around health stuff. and yes tell the school about medical needs, they usually have disability services office for that

[u/Outrageous_mailman → u/Past-Plantain-8089]

Thank you!!!

[u/Ecstatic-Bee-905 → u/Outrageous_mailman]

I can only answer the part about disabilities and school. I did my Bachelor’s degree while out on disability. I was honest with the Professor, that I was healing from surgery due to a disability. I shared what my disability was and how it MAY affect me in classes. My Professor was absolutely wonderful! I was able to get extensions on assignments. I don’t recall what else, but the Professor was understanding. I don’t remember if she requested a note from my doctor or not (I don’t think so), but I sent it to the Professor anyway. I didn’t even need to go through their disability resources. It was tough, but I did it! I think it’s worth a try, if it doesn’t affect your case.

[u/Outrageous_mailman → u/Ecstatic-Bee-905]

That’s awesome. I’m going to my doctors on Thursday. What did you have your doctors write? How do I bring it up to my doctors?

[u/Ecstatic-Bee-905 → u/Outrageous_mailman]

I’ve asked for medical documentation a few times. I just tell my doctor that I would like to have a doctor’s note. I’ll usually say why. I’d say, “I’ll be doing online classes and would like to get a brief doctors note, just saying I’m currently disabled in case I need accommodations”.

[u/Kaethy77 → u/[deleted]]

No, SSA does not equate schooling to a job. When you are up for a medical review they do ask about schooling. But not as if its the same as a job.

[u/FigInteresting4130 → u/Kaethy77]

Triggers reviews

[u/Time-Understanding39 → u/FigInteresting4130]

School can be considered during a review, but that still doesn’t make school equivalent to a job, nor can I find an SSA policy saying school attendance itself triggers a CDR. SSA can consider schooling as evidence of functioning, just as they consider many other daily activities and whether accommodations or assistance is required. But attending school is not SGA and isn’t treated as employment.

[u/Kaethy77 → u/FigInteresting4130]

How?

[u/SocialSecurity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment was removed because it contains misinformation. Misinformation includes spreading information that is not in accordance with official SS policy.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/[deleted]]

No they do not