The Federal Pell Grant application – Part 1

Federal aid is a great way to help you pay for your college education if you meet the established criteria. In order to find out if you are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, you have to file an application called the Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA).

The Federal Pell Grant is given based on financial need and is money provided for education; this money does not have to be paid back. In order to be considered for the Federal Pell Grant, you have to meet some criteria:

*You must not have already earned a bachelors degree

*You have to be matriculated in a degree program

*Only US citizens or eligible non-citizens are qualified to apply for this grant

*Must have a high school diploma or GED

*Demonstrate financial need

The FAFSA is a necessary application that needs to be completed in order to determine if you qualify for the Federal Pell Grant. Once you send in your application, your financial information will be evaluated and you may be eligible for free money under the grant program.

In order to determine financial need, the US Department of Education uses a formula to determine your eligibility to receive the Pell Grant. Your income, your parents’ income (if you are under the age of 24) and assets will be considered to help make this determination.

Once your application has been reviewed and financial information examined you will be sent a document giving you an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) amount. This is the amount of money you (or your family depending on your age) is projected to contribute towards your college education.

Today’s students can enjoy the ability to submit the FAFSA application online; while a paper format is available, for the last several years most colleges have been encouraging the electronic method to file. This cuts down on paperwork and also expedites the process and your application will be examined and evaluated much quicker this way.

When I used to work in admissions/registrar, the financial aid department told me filing the FAFSA online easily shaves at least three weeks off the waiting period. If you’ve ever registered and had your tuition bill coming due, you know how valuable any amount of time is; the quicker you can get your paperwork processed the better.

For first time applicants the application is a bit time consuming and confusing, but many colleges offer financial aid workshops to help you understand how to file your application if you run into any problems. To file your FAFSA, you visit www.fafsa.ed.gov; beware of other lookalike sites and only file your application from the official website. There are many other websites which will help you file your application, but they charge fees to do this; the FAFSA is a free application and you should never have to pay money to file.

An advantage is once you’ve filed for the first time, and if you do this from the FAFSA website, subsequent applications are easier to file. All you have to do is simply update the forms with your current information and send it in. The annual deadline usually falls around June 30.

If you qualify, Federal Pell Grants are a fantastic opportunity to help assist you in meeting your higher education costs.