If you're looking for a quick and simple way to estimate your Pell Grant eligibility, you've come to the right place. I've included a couple of different charts that you mayfind helpful: one to check off federal eligibilitycriteria, and one to to estimate Pell Grant award amounts. Read on to learn more! The Pell Grant is a federally funded award that's primarily meant to help low-income students pay for college (you can learn more about the Pell Grant here). If you want to be considered for the grant, you have to meet all federal eligibility requirements. There are some other requirements you should be aware of - you can get more information by checking out our eligibility guide. This next chart is a checklist of all federal aid criteria. These requirements apply not just for the Pell Grant, but for all types of federal aid. You may find it helpful to print these charts for your own reference. In order to qualify, you must do all of the following:
Federal Aid Pell Grant Eligibility Chart
Eligibility Requirement | Do you meet this criterion? |
Have a high school diploma, GED, or approved homeschool education | |
Be enrolled or accepted to enroll in an eligible degree/certificate program
| |
Be registered with Selective Service, if you are male and between 18-25 years old
| |
Have a valid Social Security Number (unless you’re from the Marshall Islands, Federal States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau) | |
Sign statements on the FAFSA stating that (1) you’re not in default, and do not owe refund money, on a federal student loan, and (2) you’ll only use federal aid money to help pay for your education | |
Maintain “satisfactory” progress in school
|
In addition to the requirements listed in the chart above, you must be able to check one of the following:
Be a US citizen or US national | Have a green card | Have an arrival-departure record | Have battered immigrant status | Have a T-Visa |
Pell Grant Payment Schedule Chart
If you've locked down all the Pell Grant eligibility requirements, the next thing you'll want to consider is how much Pell Grant money you could receive. For more detailed information, you could check out our post on Pell Grant limits.
Our Pell Grant Calculator guide will walk you through estimating your award amount. If you already have an idea of yourExpected Family Contribution (EFC) andenrollment status (full-time versus part-time), this chart will help you estimate your award amount very efficiently. Keep in mind that the award amounts in this chart are per semester, not per year; just double the appropriate amount to get an estimate of your annual grant eligibility.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) | Full-Time | 3/4-Time | 1/2-Time | Less than 1/2-Time |
$2,887.50 | $2,165.50 | $1,444.00 | $722.00 | |
1 to 100 | $2,862.50 | $2,147.50 | $1,431.50 | $715.50 |
101 to 200 | $2,812.50 | $2,109.50 | $1,406.50 | $703.00 |
201 to 300 | $2,762.50 | $2,072.00 | $1,381.50 | $690.50 |
301 to 400 | $2,712.50 | $2,034.50 | $1,356.50 | $678.00 |
401 to 500 | $2,662.50 | $1,997.00 | $1,331.50 | $665.50 |
501 to 600 | $2,612.50 | $1,959.00 | $1,306.50 | $653.00 |
601 to 700 | $2,562.50 | $1,922.00 | $1,281.50 | $640.50 |
701 to 800 | $2,512.50 | $1,884.50 | $1,256.50 | $628.00 |
801 to 900 | $2,462.50 | $1,847.00 | $1,231.50 | $615.50 |
901 to 1000 | $2,412.50 | $1,809.50 | $1,206.50 | $603.00 |
1001 to 1100 | $2,362.50 | $1,772.00 | $1,181.50 | $590.50 |
1101 to 1200 | $2,312.50 | $1,734.50 | $1,156.50 | $578.00 |
1201 to 1300 | $2,262.50 | $1,697.00 | $1,131.50 | $565.50 |
1301 to 1400 | $2,212.50 | $1,659.50 | $1,106.50 | $553.00 |
1401 to 1500 | $2,162.50 | $1,622.00 | $1,081.50 | $540.50 |
1501 to 1600 | $2,112.50 | $1,584.50 | $1,056.50 | $528.00 |
1601 to 1700 | $2,062.50 | $1,547.00 | $1,031.50 | $515.50 |
1701 to 1800 | $2,012.50 | $1,509.50 | $1,006.50 | $503.00 |
1801 to 1900 | $1,962.50 | $1,472.00 | $981.50 | $490.50 |
1901 to 2000 | $1,912.50 | $1,434.50 | $956.50 | $478.00 |
2001 to 2100 | $1,862.50 | $1,397.00 | $931.50 | $465.50 |
2101 to 2200 | $1,812.50 | $1,359.50 | $906.50 | $453.00 |
2201 to 2300 | $1,762.50 | $1,322.00 | $881.50 | $440.50 |
2301 to 2400 | $1,712.50 | $1,284.50 | $856.50 | $428.00 |
2401 to 2500 | $1,662.50 | $1,247.00 | $831.50 | $415.50 |
2501 to 2600 | $1,612.50 | $1,209.50 | $806.50 | $403.00 |
2601 to 2700 | $1,562.50 | $1,172.00 | $781.50 | $390.50 |
2701 to 2800 | $1,512.50 | $1,134.50 | $756.50 | $378.00 |
2801 to 2900 | $1,462.50 | $1,097.00 | $731.50 | $365.50 |
2901 to 3000 | $1,412.50 | $1,059.50 | $706.50 | $353.00 |
3001 to 3100 | $1,362.50 | $1,022.00 | $681.50 | $340.50 |
3101 to 3200 | $1,312.50 | $984.50 | $656.50 | $328.00 |
3201 to 3300 | $1,262.50 | $947.00 | $631.50 | $315.50 |
3301 to 3400 | $1,212.50 | $909.50 | $606.50 | $303.00 |
3401 to 3500 | $1,162.50 | $872.00 | $581.50 | $290.50 |
3501 to 3600 | $1,112.50 | $834.50 | $556.50 | $0.00 |
3601 to 3700 | $1,062.50 | $797.00 | $531.50 | $0.00 |
3701 to 3800 | $1,012.50 | $759.50 | $506.50 | $0.00 |
3801 to 3900 | $962.00 | $722.00 | $481.50 | $0.00 |
3901 to 4000 | $912.50 | $684.50 | $456.50 | $0.00 |
4001 to 4100 | $862.50 | $647.00 | $431.50 | $0.00 |
4101 to 4200 | $812.50 | $609.50 | $406.50 | $0.00 |
4201 to 4300 | $762.50 | $572.00 | $381.50 | $0.00 |
4301 to 4400 | $712.50 | $534.50 | $356.50 | $0.00 |
4401 to 4500 | $662.50 | $497.00 | $331.50 | $0.00 |
4501 to 4600 | $612.50 | $459.50 | $306.50 | $0.00 |
4601 to 4700 | $562.50 | $422.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
4701 to 4800 | $512.50 | $384.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
4801 to 4900 | $462.00 | $347.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
4901 to 5000 | $412.50 | $309.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
5001 to 5100 | $362.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
5101 to 5198 | $313.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
5199 and up | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
What's Next?
Now that you know about Pell Grant eligibility requirements and award amounts, you'll want to take that next step: actually submitting a Pell Grant application. Check out our submission guide here.
If you're interested in learning more about financial aid opportunities, you may want to look at our guides on merit scholarships and SAT scholarships.
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Francesca Fulciniti
About the Author
Francesca graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and scored in the 99th percentile on the SATs. She's worked with many students on SAT prep and college counseling, and loves helping students capitalize on their strengths.
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