What is a Federal Pell Grant?

How do Federal Pell Grants Work? Am I Guaranteed a Grant?

• When I filled out my FAFSA for the 2009-2010 school year, my EFC was 1,970. The letter said " Based on your EFC of 01970, you appear to be eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant of up to $3400 for the 2009-2010 school year. " I then Recieved a Scholarship of 2,500 from the school, does that change my eligibility for a PELL Grant? I also think I recieved an Oregon Opportunity Grant, Does Either of those change my eligibility? I am still Waiting on my letter, and was just wondering...If you QUALIFY for a Pell Grant are you Guaranteed to get one? My letter said up to $3400? What are your experiences in a situation like this? Did you Qualify for a pell grant and not get one? Thanks!

• Answer:

  Brittany: Your EFC score is nothing more than index of your financial aid need. Every aid applicant gets scored on the same EFC scale, allowing the financial aid system to compare your need directly with the need of any other aid applicant. Lower scores indicate more need, so if you have a score of 1970, and I have a score of 3819, then it's easy to see that you have more need than I do. Let's get one thing straight before we continue - Expected Family Contribution was a really poor choice of names for this index score, and it has led to a lot of confusion - like the other answerer, who explained that "this is what you have to pay for school". That's just not true - it's not like you get to pay $1970 to go to the school of your choice. That's not what the EFC score is at all. Applicants with an EFC score of 4041 or less are said to have demonstrated "exceptional need". Your score of 1970 is obviously less than 4041, so you're one of those 1 out of every 3 applicants who qualify for special forms of financial aid that are known as need-based forms of assistance. The Pell Grant is one of those forms of aid. Only "exceptional need" students can receive a Pell Grant. The Pell Grant is an unusual program, in that it's the only need-based aid program that is guaranteed to you. In government-speak, it's called a quasi-entitlement program - which means that if you qualify - you will receive it. The reason you were told that you can receive "up to $3400", is because the exact award depends on your registration status - if you wanted that full award, you'd have to register as a full-time student (12 or more credit hours each semester.) If you register for fewer hours, you'll still get the Pell, but it will be a smaller award. There are other types of need-based aid that you may qualify for - but for future reference, you'll want to complete your FAFSA every year before the "priority aid deadline" at your school. There are several forms of aid that are only available to each school in limited amounts, and those are the types of aid that are almost always completely distributed to the applicants who submitted their FAFSAs before the priority deadline. You'll want to watch for that on your school's calendar - it's usually somewhere between February and April. The financial aid office at your school will take your EFC score and use it to determine all of the different forms of aid that they can make available to you. They'll tell you about that 'package' of assistance in an "aid offer letter" - which will include important instructions on what you'll need to do next. Read that carefully when it comes. The only restriction to your total aid package is that you can't get "more than you need". If your school adds all of your aid together and you're getting too much, they'll have to reduce some of the aid until you're getting no more than what you need. Otherwise, you can, and probably will receive several different types of aid. Good luck!