Pell Grant
2024-2025
The Federal Pell Grant is a federally funded program for undergraduates who demonstrate financial need. The amount of the Pell Grant is based on the cost of attendance, the Student Aid Index, and the number of units the student is enrolled in. Awards are prorated if you are enrolled in less than 12 units each semester. Eligible students receive payments twice each semester. Any courses that begin after a student’s first disbursement will be paid in the second disbursement. Students may apply for a Federal Pell Grant any time after October 1st and have a completed file in the Financial Aid Office. Federal Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree.
Pell Grants are federal grants that may not have to be repaid. Eligibility is determined from the Student Aid Index (SAI), a calculation determined by the information submitted on your 2024-2025 FAFSA. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the maximum Pell Grant is $7,395 based on full-time enrollment for the school year (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. Pell Grant awards are adjusted if you enroll in fewer than 12 units per semester. Any remaining Pell eligibility will be automatically evaluated for the summer semester.
The FAFSA Simplification Act eliminated the simplified needs test and automatic zero provisions. However, some applicants will be exempt from reporting assets and/or will have assets excluded from consideration in the SAI formula.
Formula A - Maximum Pell Grant, B – Minimum Pell Grant, or C – Calculated Pell Grant based on SAI (Calculated Pell = Max Pell minus SAI).
The Federal Needs Analysis Methodology beginning 2024-2025 removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, allows a minimum SAI of -1500, and implements separate eligibility determination criteria.
Note: Enrollment intensity cannot exceed 100% for purposes of Pell Grant proration.
Note: Enrollment intensity cannot exceed 100% for purposes of Pell Grant proration.
Lifetime Eligibility – Effective July 1, 2012, Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime are limited by federal law to the equivalent of six full years (or 12 semesters of full-time enrollment). This includes Pell funding received at community colleges, vocational schools, and four-year public and private universities for the life of your academic career and is prorated if you are enrolled and receive Pell funding for less than full-time enrollment.
Once you have reached the 600%/6-year full-time enrollment limit, you are not eligible for any additional Pell funding, and there are no exceptions or appeals. Also, once you have earned a bachelor’s degree, you are no longer eligible for a Pell Grant even if you haven’t received the entire 600% eligibility. You may check your current Pell Lifetime Eligibility at www.nslds.gov.
