Are You Eligible For The Pell Grant? Keep Reading To Find Out
Written by Admin on June 7th, 2011College education is expensive, even government funded colleges are out of reach for the underprivileged sections of the society. Luckily, it is possible to fund your college education in case you don’t have the monetary muscle to carry the expense of a college degree. Student loan is a well-known form of funding but loans require repayment. Scholarships and grants, however, don’t need to be repaid. There are several private and government sponsored grants and scholarships, probably the most sought after of these is the Pell grant. This informative article mainly handles the several Pell grant eligibility needs.
The Pell grant was instituted to provide financial assistance to those who couldn’t afford college education. It is a need based scholarship; an applicant’s requirement for help is most important criterion. It is intended for undergraduates only, and also the applicant should be enrolled in an undergraduate program in one of the participating colleges. Other Pell grant eligibility criteria are as follows.
Candidates must be American citizens or eligible non citizens. They should have a valid social security number and should have no prior criminal history records. An applicant must have a high school diploma or GED or equivalent qualification. Almost all applicants are required to be registered with the selective services. Also, an applicant is not considered for the grant if he is already getting any other federal scholarship.
The total family contribution is evaluated from the information given in the application. The candidate is needed to submit tax returns, bank and investment statements, and also debt statements. The Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) is computed taking into account such aspects as family income, number of dependents, number of family members pursuing secondary education etc.
An applicant’s Pell grant eligibility is determined from the EFC, given other criteria are fulfilled. Generally, the grant is awarded to people with an EFC below 5300 USD, the exact amount varies every year. The exact amount of the grant is dependant on a number of elements including course duration, kind of program etc. For detailed instructions you can visit the FAFSA website or seek the help of the student aid office at your college.
Tags: career, education, pell grant
