The Federal Pell Grant is one of the most common grants given by the federal government to students. It is a very basic form of aid that is given to students simply because they have financial need and is therefore one of the easiest grants to earn.
Students who qualify for Federal Pell Grant
First, it does not matter if you attend a traditional on campus school or if you go to an online school, the Federal Pell Grant aims to help financially needy students achieve a higher education that they would not otherwise be able to afford.
A student who wishes to receive the Federal Pell grant should calculate their families expected income for the year and their EFC (Expected Family Contribution). Students should also figure out the yearly cost of tuition at their school and subtract their EFC from the COF (Cost of Attendance). Generally, any students with an EFC of 5,700 or less will receive some aid as long as the COF is higher than the EFC. The greater the difference, the more money the student will receive.
How to Apply for the Federal Pell Grant
No matter what you’ve heard about the Pell Grant being hard to apply for, it’s not! It’s actually very easy to apply for the Federal Pell Grant and any other Federal Grants you might qualify for. All you have to do is go to the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) website and fill out your information. Be sure to have your tax info, identification, address and personal contact information handy because they will ask you for it. A few weeks later you will get a reply either by email or snail mail and you will know what Federal aid you qualify for.
Generally deadlines for application for the Federal Pell Grant lie between June and September first of the year you wish to attend school. You should check for your individual state as it is different for each state and most deadlines are within the first few weeks of June!
Amount of Money Awarded by the Federal Pell Grant
The Federal Pell Grant awards what is known as need based aid towards students. Depending upon your expected family income and your cost of attendance you will receive somewhere between $500 – $4650 for 2011 and an expected $500 – $5,500 for 2012.
Other Information on the Federal Pell Grant
If you want to apply for the Federal Pell Grant you should probably know that you will have to apply again for each year that you would like to receive the Pell Grant. Also, your eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant may change from year to year so apply again even if you were not eligible for your first year of college!