Federal Pell Grants
The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain post-baccalaureate students to promote access to post-secondary education. Students may use their grants at any one of approximately 5,400 participating post-secondary institutions. Grant amounts are dependent on:
- the student’s expected family contribution (EFC) (see below)
- the cost of attendance (as determined by the institution)
- the student’s enrollment status (full time or part time)
- whether the student attends for a full academic year or less
Students may not receive Federal Pell Grant funds from more than one school at a time. Financial need is determined by the Department of Education using a standard formula to evaluate the financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to determine the family EFC. The fundamental elements in this standard formula are the student’s income (and assets if the student is independent), the parents’ income and assets (if the student is dependent), the family’s household size, and the number of family members (excluding parents) attending post-secondary institutions.
After filing a FAFSA, the student receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), or the institution receives an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), which notifies the student if he or she is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and provides the student’s EFC.
For more information, visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html