What are the financial restrictions for receiving the Pell Grant?

Question

I live in Florida, I am not married, made over $30,000 last year, have no children, and am not the main person on our mortgage (which eats up most of our income). I know all of these factors play into it, but are there set guidelines on who receives how much and is there a waiting limit before you can receive it? Any suggestions for grants that I might qualify for? I am not willing to take out loans. I am in the process of trying to pay off the $20,000 in debt that we have together so I don't want anything else that will show up on my credit.

Answer 1

To get the full Pell you have to be very low income.   A single person making 30K a year is not really low income, but some folks don't qualify for the FULL amount, but do get a portion of the grant if they aren't too poor.

There is no "set" income level if that is what you are asking for because every ones financial situation is different.  Debt is not factored into getting the pell.  Applying for fin aid is a process and takes time... sometimes up to 8 weeks depending on your school.  Be sure you apply early.  As soon after Jan 1 for the next school year.

Answer 2

You may qualify for a Pell Grant, but it will probably not be the full amount.  Unfortunately, for non traditional students, there really aren't many alternatives out there as far as grants.  Most of them are geared toward incoming high school students.  You said you were not married, but I noticed you kept saying "we".  Did you file your income jointly with someone?  If you did, then you will have to take their income into consideration too.  Personally, I take out government loans for college, otherwise, I would not be able to go.  I opted to pay them when I get out of college so I do not have that expense at the moment.  They do show up on your credit, however, but as satisfactory.

Answer 3

You will want to start by filing the FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov). This takes into account things like income, family size, assets, etc. The FAFSA calculates a number called the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) which is what the financial aid office at your school will use to determine if you are eligible for any grants or loans.

To receive any amount of Pell Grant, your EFC will need to be below 4041. You also cannot already have a bachelor's degree, or be in default on any federal student loans.

Hope this helps a bit!

Answer 4

Pell Grants are the government's best-known form of "need-based" educational aid, and like all need-based programs, they are available only to applicant who demonstrate what is known as "exceptional" need. Only 1/3 of US college students receive a Pell Grant.

Your eligibility for a Pell grant is established by only one factor - the Expected Family Contribution score that is determined by analyzing your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) submission. As a single student, who made over $30,000 last year, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that you will not be classified as a student with exceptional need.

I can certainly understand that you want to take advantage of any financial assistance that you can get in paying for a college education, but there's going to be a pretty insurmountable problem if you are determined to attend school without borrowing. Put your educational dreams in a different context, and I think you'll understand why.

Suppose you wanted something else you couldn't afford - say, for example, that you really wanted to buy a shiny new car. Your old car was kind of beat up, it didn't get the kind of gas mileage that you were looking for, and you were just tired of driving it - you wanted a fresh start - and some new driving opportunities.

Do you think that someone else should buy you this new car?

So what do you do if you can't afford a new car, but you really want one? You make the careful financial decision as to whether you should borrow the money to buy the car. Sure, you're going to have to pay it back, but in the meantime, you're driving that new car, right?

A college education is the same thing. No one is going to buy you a college education, because no one is going to directly benefit from that education except you and your family. A college education is VERY expensive, so you have to decide if borrowing the money to pay for one is worth it to you or not. If you borrow wisely, you'll choose a low cost college option - but if you're willing to take on a lot of debt, you can choose a more expensive college.

I also understand that you have other outstanding debt. That figures into your decision as to whether you can afford to borrow for college right now. Again, the fact that you have debt doesn't mean that someone else should buy you a degree.

Start with the FAFSA. The government's Stafford loan program is THE best educational loan you will find anywhere. The interest rates are low and fixed, you don't need a credit check or a cosigner, you won't need to begin repayment until after you have finished school, and you can request a temporary postponement of payments if you experience economic hardship later on.

If you choose wisely, your Stafford funds may cover a good chunk of the cost of your education. If you have more caviar-style educational dreams, your Stafford funds will leave you well short of paying for it all, and you'll have to supplement those loans with other money that you either already have, or have to borrow.

Good luck to you - I hope that helps. You'll find a lot of people in this section of the site advising that you should "check with financial aid because they can help you out with grants". Grants are for poor people - there are no magic grants for people who just wish they didn't have to pay for it all themselves.

Answer 5

It sounds like you should be able to get some pell if not the whole grant.  There is not a waiting period on getting it but you should apply a few months before you plan on enrolling in college.