The Federal Pell Grant Program

The federal Pell Grant program is an educational grant initiative that is provided by the Department of Education, and is currently awarded to nearly ten million students from across the country.

It was created in 1972 as an amendment to the Higher Education Act, and was originally instituted to provide aid to students who otherwise would not be able to afford college.

While the Pell Grant program has the potential to undergo significant annual revision, it can now provide up to 5,550 dollars in aid per academic year to students who qualify.

Gaining Pell Grant Eligibility

To become eligible for the federal Pell Grant you must:

• Satisfy the litany of federal student aid eligibility requirements
• Be working towards your first associate’s, or bachelor’s degree
• Undergraduate exception—if pursuing a professional degree or teacher certification
• Must not presently be incarcerated in a state or federal penal institution
• Demonstrate significant financial need—EFC must be below 5,273 to qualify

Undergraduate Requirement and Exception

The Pell Grant was designed to benefit mostly undergraduate students, and you should therefore be enrolled in a degree-oriented program that may lead to your first associate’s, or bachelor’s degree to gain eligibility.

The main exception to this is if you are working towards a professional degree, or are enrolled in a graduate program that may lead to teacher certification or licensure.

Penal Institution Requirement

Being incarcerated in a state or federal penal institution will negate your eligibility to receive the Pell Grant, although you may be able to qualify once you are released.

Financial Need Requirement

Remember that financial need is measured primarily via the expected family contribution (EFC) by the Department of Education, and stands as the main indicator of your family’s ability to contribute money towards your educational expenses.

That being said, the Pell Grant is based heavily on financial need, and to become eligible your EFC must be below 5,273 for any particular award year.

The lower your EFC is to zero the better your chances are at receiving the full award amount of 5,550 dollars, with most students who qualify receiving about half the maximum award amount.

Applying and Award Amounts

The Pell Grant is a type of federal student aid, and you therefore must apply via the FAFSA. This is the only application that you must complete in order to become eligible for the federal Pell Grant program.

Pell Grants are given out on an annual basis, and you should therefore submit a new FAFSA during each year that you wish to become eligible.

You are able to get a full Pell Grant award for each year that you are enrolled as an undergraduate student, and the amount you receive like I stated previously will be heavily dependent on your level of financial need indicated by your EFC.

Your final award amount will ultimately be dependent on the following factors:

• Financial Need—EFC
• Cost of Attendance
• Enrollment Status
• Plans to Enroll as a Full-year Student

Once you have submitted your FAFSA and have received your Student Aid Report (SAR), you should be notified of your Pell Grant eligibility status, and given an estimation of the amount of aid you may be able to receive via a Pell Grant.

The official amount of Pell Grant funding you will be eligible to receive will be included in your financial aid award letter that will be sent by your college at some point before you start classes in the Fall.

The maximum Pell Grant award amount for the 2011-2012 school year is set at 5,550 dollars.

Conclusions

The Pell Grant is a fabulous financial aid award instrument that doesn’t have to be paid back, and should be gladly welcomed by any student who is able to qualify.

The biggest factor that prevents students from receiving a Pell Grant is their level of financial need indicated by their EFC.

The bottom-line is that you won’t even qualify for the minimum award amount if your EFC isn’t below 5,273, and I believe for the upcoming school year that full amounts will only be given to students with EFC values of zero.

If your EFC is below 5,273, and you can satisfy the other eligibility requirements then you should at least be able to receive some Pell Grant aid, which is preferable to taking out both federal and private student loan funding.