The Federal Pell Grant Program

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate students who have not yet earned a bachelor's or professional degree to promote access to postsecondary education. Grant amounts are dependent on: the student's expected family contribution (EFC); the cost of attendance (as determined by the institution); the student's enrollment status (full-time or part-time); and whether the student attends for a full academic year or less.

In order to apply for a Pell Grant you must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can learn more about this process online at https://studentaid.gov/.

After submitting your FAFSA application your Student Aid Index (SAI) will be calculated using the information you provide on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

The calculation uses certain information from your tax return as well as the net worth of your assets. Most of the tax information used to calculate the SAI is transferred directly from the IRS* into the FAFSA form if you provide your consent and approval. Some FAFSA applicants may need to manually provide their tax information.

Pell-specific eligibility requirements are that the student either be an undergraduate or be in an eligible degree granting program, and not be incarcerated in a federal or state penal institution, be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, have a valid Social Security Number and be making satisfactory academic progress.

Eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant is limited to 12 terms of full-time payments or its equivalent. Semesters are counted based on the portion of a full-time equivalent, so that a half-time equivalent is counted as half a semester toward the 12-semester limit. Students can track their remaining Pell Grant eligibility on nslds.ed.gov/npas (National Student Loan Data System) or on www.studentaid.gov.

Year Round Pell

Pell grant is available for students who decide to take summer courses. Students are allowed to receive up to 150% of their scheduled award. This is called year-round Pell. The purpose of year-round Pell is to allow students to register for classes in the summer that will allow them to stay on track and graduate faster. Students are allowed a lifetime limit of 600% which is 12 full time semesters of Federal Pell grant. Year-Round Pell that is scheduled will be factored into a student's lifetime eligibility usage (LEU). A student can check their lifetime Pell Eligibility usage by logging in to https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/.

Here is an example of what Year-Round Pell will look like:

What if I Was Not Registered Full Time in Either Fall or Spring?

While you may not be eligible for the Year-Round Pell, you still have left over Pell eligibility. Use the chart below to see how many credits you can register for this summer, and leftover Pell does not require a six-credit minimum to be utilized this summer. The below information is just some examples:

Q&A

Please email or stop by the financial aid office if you have additional questions.