Federal Pell Grant Basics
How to Qualify, How to Apply
The Federal Pell Grant is a federally funded grant awarded to students that show a high level of need for financial gift aid. This aid is not always directly relative to your family income, contrary to popular belief. As a college student, you have or will have many expenses. And that’s to be expected. After all, college is expensive and it can be stressful trying to come up with the cash to pay for tuition, books, dorm fees and, let’s not forget, food.
There are plenty of financial aid resources available for students that need them, including:
- Federal, state and private student loans
- Federal and state grants
- Federal, state and private scholarships
The Federal Pell Grants program is one of the most common and well-known financial aid programs in the country.
What Is the Federal Pell Grant?
The Federal Pell Grant is typically awarded to students who show a high-level of need. There are no income limits, and grants are awarded to a diverse population of students in thousands of American colleges and universities. What constitutes need? Factors that go into determining your eligibility for the Pell Grant:
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
- Number of family members
- Number of dependent family members attending college
- Family assets outside of income
Applying for the Pell Grant
Do you expect to be awarded some type of financial aid for college? Then be certain you complete and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and by the federal or state FAFSA deadlines. So many lenders require you to have filed a FAFSA that if you neglect this one major task you miss out on many student loans, scholarships and other grant programs, period. If you need assistance completing this application contact your high school guidance counselor and/or a college financial aid representative.
The FAFSA may be filed electronically or via mail and is available in a Spanish version. The federal government evaluates all the information you and your family provide on the application and use these factors to determine the types of federal aid for which you apply, including the Pell. This determination is reported to you in the follow-up Student Aid Report (SAR). It’s also disclosed to each school you’re considering attending (you include them on your FAFSA).
Your schools of choice further evaluate your SAR and prepare a financial aid package they are willing to extend you. This is sent to you in an award letter.
From there the decision is up to you. But in order to get to that point you must complete the FAFSA. Fail to file and you exclude yourself from so many other types of financial aid.