Pell Grant

The complete authority when it comes to determining the eligibility of a candidate for a Pell Grant lies with the Department of Education. Before we go into any systematic approach in determining a candidate’s eligibility for a Pell Grant, it’s worth stressing on the Federal Pell Grant’s primary mission – which is to help a candidate pursue an education even if she/he is facing inappropriate financial circumstances. The main objective is to provide an alternative support system to such candidates with respect to monetary resources. Considering the number of candidates who really need such a support system, it goes without saying that the entire process needs to be streamlined so as to generate maximally optimal results.

The Department of Education more or less use a standard formula to determine the eligibility of a candidate for a Pell Grant. Among the many parameters that influence the eligibility, the most crucial one is perhaps the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The other major parameters are the Cost of Attendance (CoA) as defined by the University and the enrollment of a student in terms of full-time or part-time course.

The first thing a student needs to do for a Pell Grant is to submit a full-fledged financial report to the Department of Education. The candidate does the same by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The FAFSA helps the Department of Education in determining certain financial aspects with respect to the candidate.

A few of them are as follows

• That the candidate will not misuse the allotted funds and will use them solely for educational purposes only.
• Provide enough evidence that the candidate has not defaulted on repayment of financial aid or loans of any other financial agency and hence candidate is not going to use the Pell Grant for the clearance of that loan amount.
• The course the candidate is pursuing is affiliated with a well recognized university and the degree certificate ultimately obtained is of significant value.
• The financial income of the candidate’s family is less than or about around $20,000 per year (This rule has some exceptions, though.)
• The candidate must be a permanent resident US citizen or an eligible non-citizen and must possess a valid Social Security number.
• No criminal records in the candidate’s past including jail-terms and substance-abuse related offenses.

These are just some of the pre-requisites and issues verified by the Department of Education before they offer a candidate a Pell Grant. The candidates hopeful about receiving Pell Grants need to apply at least 10 weeks before the commencement of the next semester. The reason is because the process of verification is considerably elaborate and the candidates may be asked to submit a few other documents like bank statements, tax returns, etc to better substantiate their requirement of the Pell Grant.

It is worthwhile to note that every candidate who is considered eligible for a Pell Grant does not always receive the maximum amount provided by it and the Pell Grant eventually provided could be fractional sum decided upon by the Department of Education.

Keep in mind that is it always wise to work backwards from the date of your college year beginning and apply well in advance for a Pell grant. Lastly, a frequently asked question here is if you can apply for a pell grant from a different state other than the one you live in apart from of course the requirements for a Pell grant? Read everything you can about Pell Grant and applying for a Pell grant here at studentelligence.com.

Thinking of applying for a Pell Grant? There are a couple of requirements that need to be taken care of by a candidate if they wish to receive a Pell Grant. FAFSA (Federal Application for Student Aid), EFC (Expected Family Contribution) and SAR (Student Aid Report) are some of the terms that a candidate must be well acquainted with if a candidate is looking forward to applying for a Pell Grant. The EFC is an amount arrived at through calculations and policies  of the Department of Education using the information submitted by the candidate in her/his Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Here is a list of requirements for being eligible for a Pell Grant:-

1. The candidate must be a permanent resident US citizen or an eligible non-citizen and must possess a valid Social Security number.

2. The financial income of the candidate’s family is less than or about around $20,000 per annum. (This rule has some exceptions, though.)

3. The course the candidate is pursuing is affiliated with a well recognized university and the degree certificate ultimately obtained is of significant value.

4. The post-secondary institution the candidate is enrolled at must be one among the 5,400 colleges participating in the Pell Grant program.

5. Male candidates aged between 18 and 25 compulsorily need to be registered with the Selective Services.

6. There should be absolutely no criminal records in the candidate’s past including jail-terms and substance-abuse related offences.

7. The candidate must provide enough evidence that she/he has not defaulted on repayment of financial aid or loans of any other financial agency and hence candidate is not going to use the Pell Grant for the clearance of that loan amount.

8. The academic progress made by the candidate must be reasonable and this has to be acknowledged by the University.

9. The candidate must certify in the FAFSA Form that the allotted funds will not be misused and will solely be used for educational purposes only.

It is advisable for candidates who are hopeful of receiving Pell Grants to apply at least 10 weeks prior to  the commencement of the next semester. The reason is because the process of verification is considerably elaborate and the candidates may be asked to submit a few other documents like bank statements, tax returns, etc. to better substantiate their requirement of the Pell Grant. Here’s wishing all candidates who are looking forward to receiving their Federal Pell Grants the very Best of Luck!!

The Federal Pell Grant Program is one which provides financial aid and grants to students with low-income backgrounds. This is done with an intention of promoting, sustaining and ensuring access to quality education while preventing finance related issues from acting as an obstacle. The core area where the Pell Grant Program is active is at the undergraduate level. In  certain cases, nevertheless,  a student enrolled in a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program too is eligible for a Pell Grant. In contrast to loans, the amount received through Pell Grant do not require repayment.

The Pell grant can be considered to be relatively more generous and flexible in the provision of college grants and this attributes to its popularity among people. Though the funds given to an eligible candidate are not really monumental, they are more or less equivalent to the other undergraduate federal grants available. Its upper limit is currently at $5,500 per year. The actual Pell Grant amount an eligible candidate receives is dependent on a number of factors, with the predominant ones being the Expected Family Contribution(EFC), cost of attendance, and enrollment status. The EFC is an amount arrived at through calculations and policies  of the Department of Education using the information submitted by the candidate in her/his Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

Qualifying for a Pell Grant can require a substantial amount of paperwork and has its own set of complications. This is because there is a tendency where in nearly all students from a university apply for the Pell Grant irrespective of whether they really need it or not. They do so due to the various other value additions which Pell Grant eligibility brings in with it and the most significant among them is that it makes eligibility for financial aid through other programs and financial agencies a lot more easier. In fact, several other grants are specifically tied to a candidate’s eligibility for the Pell Grant and students stand a chance of losing out of financial aid opportunities from other agencies altogether .

Analogous to other financial aid systems, the Pell Grant too have certain drawbacks. Even though the grant given to a candidate can be as high as $5,500 per year, the university fee structure for degree courses and other related expenses make the amount received through Pell Grant lesser significant these days as compared to earlier times. While the Pell Grant could cover upto 60% of a student’s expenses during the 1990′s, it covers approximately only a lesser encouraging 30% of a student’s financial requirement  these days. This makes access to other  forms of finanacial aid and loans an absolute necessity by students if they’re really serious about pursuing a graduation degree.

All in all, it would be fair enough to say that the Federal Pell Grant Program does have plenty of good intention in their mission considering the millions of students who have benefited from this program over a period of time.