Federal Pell Grant

Grants are awarded to students with significant financial need in combination with work and loans as part of an aid package. Normally, financial need is determined from information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA.

What is a Pell Grant?

A Federal Pell Grant is a form of federal financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Pell Grants are awarded usually only to undergraduate students who have not earned an associate’s, bachelor's, or a professional degree. Students that are eligible for a Pell Grant can also receive other forms of gift aid (funds that do not need to be repaid). The FAFSA, which is one of the requirements needed to become eligible for a Pell Grant, is also the application necessary for federal student loans.

Am I eligible for the Pell Grant?

Open to US citizens and eligible non-citizens.
You must be an eligible student whose Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is less than or equal to the figure set by the Federal Government for the academic year. For more information about EFC, please check out our Financial Aid Eligibility sub-menu.
Your EFC is determined from the information that you provide on your FAFSA. (SUSLA’s federal school code is 007686. Our priority deadline is April 14^th)
You must meet all of the eligibility criteria required for receipt of federal aid including SAP.
You must be enrolled in an undergraduate program leading to a certificate or an associate degree.
For the 2021-2022 award year, the Pell Grant annual award ranges between $672 to $6,495 per year.
For the 2022-2023 award year, the Pell Grant annual award ranges between $692 to $6,895 per year.

NOTE: The amount of time in which a student can receive Pell grant has been reduced from 18 semesters to 12 semesters. This change in duration is not limited to students who received their first Federal Pell Grant on or after the 2008-2009 award year, as the HEA previously provided when the duration of eligibility was 18 semesters. The federal government will calculate the equivalency by adding together each of the annual percentages of a student's scheduled award that was actually disbursed to the student. The Pell Lifetime Eligibility Usage for qualifying, undergraduate students is 600%.