Pell Grant Information

There are a number of Pell Grant qualifications that you must satisfy if you want to become eligible for the Pell Grant. While not great in number, these are the most critical Pell Grant qualifications that will have to be met if you want to gain a positive eligibility status and thus be able to receive some amount of aid by way of the Pell.

The Various Pell Grant Qualifications

-You must have a high school diploma, GED, or have been home-schooled. You will still be able to qualify if you have passed an “ability to benefit” test at some point in the past.

-The school you are planning to enroll in must participate in the Pell Grant program. There are currently 5,400 schools across the nation that participate.

-You must be working towards your first bachelor’s degree, although certain types of professional graduate degree programs do qualify such as dentistry, and pharmacy programs.

-You must be making satisfactory academic progress in your degree program as defined by the school you are attending.

-You must be a U.S. citizen eligible non-citizen, or U.S. national.

-You must have a valid social security number.

-You must not have been incarcerated in the past, and if you have a drug-related offense on your record you must have received the appropriate remediation by way of a drug treatment program, or have been able to satisfy the appropriate requirements that would make your charge exempt.

-You should not have defaulted on any sort of previous federal aid, and you shouldn’t have an outstanding Pell overpayment on your record.

-You should not have already received a full scholarship that year.

-If you are a male between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, you must enroll with the Selective Service.

In Conclusion

Now keep in mind that once you have satisfied these federal Pell Grant qualifications you must also have an EFC that is below the threshold for receiving aid by way of the Pell Grant. The current threshold is set at 4,617, and you won’t be able to become eligible for the Pell Grant if your EFC is higher than this number unless you exhibit a very specialized set of circumstances and can arrange something with the Department of Education and the school you are attending. Your EFC is calculated when you supply all of the appropriate Pell Grant information during the filling out of your FAFSA, and you should be informed of what it is exactly once you have officially completed your FAFSA. Also keep in mind that once you have satisfied the aforementioned Pell Grant qualifications and have become eligible to receive aid the actual amount you are able to receive will depend on a range of factors including your EFC, the cost of attendance to matriculate to your school, and your enrollment status.