What Is a Pell Grant?

Federal Pell Grants are a type of student aid generally awarded to undergraduates who’ve demonstrated extraordinary financial need on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. Unlike federal 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:student loans, Pell Grants usually won’t require repayment.

How a Pell Grant Works

The first step to receiving a Pell Grant is to submit the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖𒀰结果体🦄彩网:Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For all of the schools that a student applies to, the financ🎀ial aid offices will each calculate how much federal aid they may be eligible for, based on the in🌃formation included in their FAFSA.

There are two figures used to determine this amount: the applicant’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Student Aid Index (SAI) and the school’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cost of attendance (COA). The SAI is an eligibility index for student aid that takes both the student's and their parents’ income and assets into account. The COA, meanwhile, is the overall cost of going to a particular school, including tuition, fees, books, room and board, etc. If the difference between these two figures indicate🅘s that the student would have a substantial funding gap, then the school will likely provide them with at least so𒅌me financial aid.

In addition to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:subs♍idized and unsubsidized federal loans, which have to be repaid, students may also be offered scholarships, federal work-study, and/or Pell Grants. Of these types of aid, Pell Grants and subsidized loans are unique in that they’re both earmarked for students who’ve shown a greater financial need. Outside of students in certain postbaccalaureate teacher training programs, Pell Grants are only available for undergraduates.

Limitations for Pell Grants

For the 2025–2026 award year (i.e., July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026), the maximum annual Pell Grant is $7,395. Additionally, the total amount a student receives cannot exceed 12 terms (roughly six years) of funding, which the United States Department of Education tracks via its Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) percentage. If a student’s LEU equals or exceeds 600%, they won’t be eligible for further Pell Grant funding.

3 Pell Grant Alternatives

• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG): FSEOGs are also awarded to students with “exceptional financial need,” just like Pell Grants, up to an annual maximum of $4,000.
• Teacher Education Access for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants: The TEACH Grant Program provides recipients with grants of up to $4,000 annually. In order to receive this funding, eligible students must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or Repay, in which they agree to satisfy certain requirements as a teacher after they graduate.
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants (IASG): A student may qualify for an IASG if they’re ineligible for a Pell Grant and lost a parent or guardian who served in Iraq or Afghanistan after 9/11. However, at the time of their parent or guardian’s death, a student must either have been under 24 years old or enrolled in college at least part-time.

The Bottom Line

Pell Grants give students with serious financial need a better chance of affording a higher education. As with other kinds of federal financial aid, a student must fill out the FAFSA in order to qualify😼. However, Pell Granꦕts have the added benefit of not requiring repayment, whereas student loans do.