Once you have established that your are in fact eligible for the Pell Grant, the next thing that you should have on your mind should be in regard to the actual amount of aid you will receive via the Pell Grant. The Pell Grant amount you ultimately will receive will be dependent on several factors, including EFC, cost of attendance, and enrollment status.
The financial aid department at your school will use a standardized formula that will take into consideration these factors when determining your Pell Grant amount, and they will gather such information from your FAFSA.
Establishing the Pell Grant Amount
EFC is used as an indicator of your financial need, and having a lower EFC will increase your chances at getting a higher Pell Grant amount. Students with EFC values at zero, or close to zero will almost always qualify for the full amount, although this also depends on other factors. Cost of attendance, or CoA, is the amount of money that it takes to attend a particular postsecondary institution, and the higher your CoA is, the greater the likelihood of being given the full award amount.
Enrollment status essentially describes whether you are attending class on a full-time basis, or on a part-time basis, and directly correlates with the number of credit hours you are taking during any particular semester. Pell Grant aid is given regardless of enrollment status, and you can therefore receive a Pell Grant even if you are only taking on class per semester. The amount of aid you can receive via the Pell Grant will always be fractionally prorated in regard to enrollment status, so if you happened to qualify for 2,500 dollars of aid, but were only going to school on a half-time basis, you would be given fifty percent of that amount, or 1,250 dollars.
Maximum and Minimum Award Amounts
Specific award amounts for the 2010-11 school year are included below. Mind you that these are portential amounts, and the amount of aid you will be allocated will be determined via a set formula that includes the above factors that were just described.
- Full-time: 5,550 | 1,176
- Three-Quarter-Time: 4,163 | 1,004
- Half-Time: 2,775 | 831
- Quarter-Time: 1,389 | 659
Provided above are both the maximum, and minimum potential Pell Grant amounts for the 2010-11 school year in U.S. dollars. Most students don’t end up receiving either the maximum or minimum award amounts, and rather end up getting an award that lies somewhere in the middle. If your EFC is at zero, or very close to it you have a good chance at receiving the maximum Pell Grant amount for that particular award year.
Because of several recent changes to the Pell Grant program, you can now receive up to two Pell Grants for any particular award year. Most school years are standardized to include fall, winter/ spring, and summer semesters, and when you have exhausted your Pell Grant aid during the fall and winter/ spring semesters, you may be able to get another Pell Grant if you are planning to take additional credits during the summer. Contact your school’s financial aid department if you know that this scenario may apply to you.
