Pell Grants are federal educational awards that are given to students seeking a bachelors, or professional degree, and they are based primarily on financial need. The grant, named after United States Senator Claiborne Pell, is awarded by schools to mostly undergraduate students, although some professional degree seeking students can become eligible. The U.S. Department of Education sponsors this grant program, but it does not award the proceeds to students directly.
Pell Grants have a fairly straight forward process when applying, and if you meet the qualifications you should have no difficulty in getting at least some Pell Grant aid. The first step is to enroll in a degree, certificate or other professional certification at a school that is accredited and recognized by the United States Department of Education. The school must accept Title IV funding.
Since very few families can afford the cost of a college education outright, most students need to fill out a FAFSA form online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it determines if you qualify for subsidized and unsubsidized loans as well as the Pell Grant.
Several determining factors go into whether or not you can satisfy the Pell Grant eligibility requirements. One of the factors is your families EFC, or Expected Family Contribution, which should be less than 5,273 for the 2011 school year. Your EFC is calculated by taking into consideration the size of your family, the amount of family savings, current income, and the number of family members who may be enrolled in college. Your EFC will also be sent to the schools you are applying to if you have listed them on your FAFSA form. This will aid the schools in determining what your financial need is so that they can then prepare a financial aid package for you.
Other factors that determine Pell Grant eligibility that students usually are not aware of are drug conviction status points and academic eligibility. Any drug conviction will automatically make you ineligible for the Pell Grant. Each School determines what it means to be academically eligible, but generally it means having a C average overall. There is no magic GPA number that will qualify you because it depends on the individual school. Needless to say, the higher your grades are, the more desirable you should be to the academic institutions you are applying to.