Pell Grant

Pell Grant

The Federal Pell Grant is a federal financial aid program for undergraduate students with financial need. The grant amount is determined by factors such as the cost of attendance, Student Aid Index, and enrollment status. Eligible students generally receive payments twice per semester. Learn more about how PELL Grant amounts are determined.

What is a Student Aid Index?
The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number used to determine a student's eligibility for federal financial aid, including grants, loans, and work-study. It is calculated based on the information provided in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including factors such as family income, assets, and household size. A lower SAI indicates a greater financial need, which can lead to a higher amount of financial aid.

Do I have to pay back Pell grant funds?
The Federal Pell Grant is not a loan and does not need to be repaid as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. However, if you withdraw from school or fail to maintain enrollment status, you may be required to return some or all of the grant funds. A withdrawal includes student-initiated drops, instructor-initiated drops, F or NP grades with a documented Last Date of Attendance (LDA), and Excused Withdrawals (EW) initiated by the student.

Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU)
The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds a student may receive over his or her lifetime is limited by a new federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding a student can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.

The Department of Education keeps track of your LEU by adding together the percentages of your Pell Grant awards that you received for each award year.

To view your LEU, log in to www.StudentAid.gov, then navigate to “My Aid” to view your LEU.

How is my Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used calculated?

Scheduled Award: The maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive is calculated for an “award year.” An award year is a period from July 1 of one calendar year to June 30 of the next calendar year. Your “scheduled award” is partially determined by using your SAI. Your scheduled award is the maximum amount you would be able to receive for the award year if you were enrolled full-time for the full school year. Your scheduled award represents 100% of your Pell Grant eligibility for that award year.  

Percent Used: To determine how much of the maximum six years (600%) of Pell Grant you have used each year, the Department compares the actual amount you received for the award year with your scheduled award amount for that award year. Of course, if you receive the full amount of your scheduled award, you will have used 100%. Some students do not receive their entire scheduled award for an award year. There are a number of reasons for this, the most common of which are that the student was not enrolled for the full year or that the student was not enrolled full-time, or both. 

If you did not receive the full amount of your scheduled award, we calculate the percentage of the scheduled award that you did receive. For example, if your scheduled award for an award year is $5,000, but because you were enrolled for only one semester you received only $2,500, you would have received 50% of the scheduled award for that award year; or if you received only $3,750 for the award year because you were enrolled three-quarter-time and not full-time, you would have received 75% for that year.