Everything you need to know about Pell Grant Application

A Pell Grant is the money which is provided by the Government for students who need to pay for college. The Pell Grant was first established in the year 1972 by Congress. There are more than 5 million students who have received Pell Grants. The amount totals over 20 billion dollars and there are over 5,400 institutions to participate in the Pell grant program.

About Pell Grant

The Pell Grant is just like an award which you receive from the Government. There are federal student loan programs which you can apply, but the thing is that you have to repay the loan back. But Pell Grants are not like these federal loans. This is the great advantage of Pell Grants, and most of the students only apply for Pell Grants. They won’t prefer to take federal loans.

• Pell Grants do not need to be repaid as it is not the loan and as long as you don’t change your eligibility status. The reasons where you might want to return the Pell grant is if you withdrew from the program. Your eligibility status is changed.
• These Pell Grants are awarded only to students who are undergraduates.
• Those who are in need of financial aid, then only can they apply for Pell Grants.
• Pell Grants are issued for the entire academic year.
• Some post-graduate students who are in teacher certification can apply for Pell Grants.
• The maximum Pell grant for an academic year is $5775.
• The minimum Pell grant is $573.

How to Apply for Pell Grants

There is no specific application which is available for Pell Grants. The students who complete the FAFSA application are eligible for Pell Grants. So you can apply for Pell Grants application if you complete the FAFSA, Free Application For Federal Student Aid. The students who are all awarded Grants need to reapply every year through FAFSA. Then only you will get the money for the next academic year. The amount may vary year to year depending on the various factors such as full time or part time enrollment, cost of the tuition. Depending on the financial needs of the students the amount gets changed every year.

Eligibility Needed

• Remain in satisfactory standard academic performance in your college.
• You should not have some legal problems.
• You should maintain the citizenship status.
• Each year you should exhibit the financial need.

The most needed eligibility is financial need. They look at family’s income, students’ income and other factors, obligations. The factors which they consider is

• Family Size
• Number of kids in college
• The cost of the college
• You plan for full enrollment or part-time.

Do they consider the Income Limits?

The money for Pell Grants is dispersed according to the financial needs and number of applications. There is no specific income limit. This may change from year to year. The poorest students usually get their Grants first. Then after considering all the factors of the family, they will give money to the middle-class family. The Department of Education pays the money directly through your institution. The institution either applies to pay the costs directly or give it to you.

If you have any doubts regarding how to apply for federal Pell Grants, there is something called the Intuitive Student Financial Aid Assistant that guides us in the FAFSA process and makes applying for Pell Grants very easy. With the help of this, you can just complete your application within a fraction of seconds.

So, these are some of the important things you need to know while applying for Pell Grants. Pell Grants Application will be provided for all who need financial aid. Check and go through all the points given above and make sure that you are eligible for this award.