Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG) - when does the money actually hit your account?

[KarenWeiss]

I was awarded the MTAG (Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant) for this academic year. I got the award letter back in like May, it was all processed, my financial aid portal shows the amount, everything looked good. Fall semester came and went, and the money was there. Cool.

But now it's Spring semester, and my balance is due in like two weeks, and the MTAG money still isn't showing as "disbursed" on my account. The bursar's office just says "it'll post when the state releases the funds" which is like... the most unhelpful answer ever.

Does anyone know the actual timeline for this? Is it always late? Does it depend on when I submitted my FAFSA? I called the financial aid office and the lady sounded so over it, she basically just read the website back to me. I need real talk from real students.

I've got a book voucher I'm trying to use but the bookstore won't let me until the funds are officially there, and my classes started Monday. I'm using my laptop from 2015 and it crashes every time I open more than three tabs, so I really need those books digital access codes to work.

Also, side question - if I drop below 15 credit hours (thinking of dropping this one 8am that I'm literally never going to attend), do they pro-rate the grant or do I lose it entirely? The fine print says "full-time enrollment required" but does that mean for the whole semester or just at the time of disbursement?

Any Mississippi state school peeps who've been through this, please share your wisdom! This is my first time dealing with state aid and I'm lost.

 

[Aaron]

For the 15 credit hour question: MTAG requires full-time enrollment which is technically 15 hours per semester according to state rules . But your school might consider 12 hours full-time for their purposes. The key is: if you drop below 15 before disbursement, you might not get the money at all. If you drop after disbursement, you might have to pay it back and you'll be ineligible for the NEXT semester .

The deadline for spring enrollment verification is March 15 . If you drop before then and your school reports you as less than full-time, your award can be canceled. Talk to your financial aid office BEFORE dropping anything!