Pell Grant Eligibility, Income, and EFC

A student's income will have a profound effect on their ability to get a Pell Grant, and there are certain guidelines in terms of income that a student should pay attention to if they want to get approved for a Pell Grant.

With an increased need for educated professionals, the government has made available the Pell Grant as a source of funding for low income students. The Pell Grant can provide additional funding for students to attend college on an annual basis. The Pell Grant is designed for students that demonstrate a significant need for financial aid to attend college, and therefore a variety of Pell Grant eligibility requirements must be satisfied if the student is to receive any aid by way of this award. The most critical eligibility requirements are based off of the student's income, and perhaps their family's income if they are still a dependent.

When it comes to these income requirements, any student with a household income of less than 60,000 per year should be eligible for the Pell Grant. Students that have household incomes of 30,000 dollars per year have the greatest likelihood of getting the entire amount for that particular school year, although there are other factors that this is based upon as well. The FAFSA is the application you must fill out when you are ready to apply for the Pell Grant, and the information that is gathered to evaluate your need in regard to your level of income will include the following:

• Income and Assets (if you're an independent)
• Parent's Income and Assets (if you're a dependent)
• Household family members attending university
• Household size

Only those students who demonstrate a significant need in regard to the previous categories will be able to become eligible for the Pell Grant, and the way this is calculated exactly upon the submission of the aforementioned types of data is via a formulas that eventually produces what is called an EFC, or expected family contribution. The EFC is supposed to act as a clear indicator of a student's ability to contribute money out-of-pocket towards their college education, and the lower it is, the better a student's chances are at receiving Pell Grant aid. The maximum cutoff for the 2010-11 school year is set at 4,617, and any student that has an EFC value over this mark will not be eligible for any funding by way of the Pell Grant. Students with EFC values of zero will almost always qualify for the full amount, and upon submission of the FAFSA, a student should be able to decipher their EFC, and Pell Grant eligibility virtually right away.

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