Planning Your College Finances: How Much Is The Pell Grant?
When you are planning your finances for college, you may be wondering: how much is the Pell grant. This is a great question. Planning how you are going to pay for college is an important step to avoid coming out of college with a degree and a lot of student loan debt. The Pell Grant, as well as college scholarships and other grants, are debt-free ways to finance college.
The amount of money you may receive through Pell Grants depends on your financial situation including your income and savings. If you are still a dependent student, this will include your parents’ financial situation. For the current academic year, the maximum Pell grant amount is $5,550. However, there are many factors that go into determining how much grant money a student will receive.
So, how much is the Pell grant?
The short answer is that the maximum award is $5,550, but what you will get depends on many things. First and foremost of those things is knowing that there is a limited amount of government grant money available, and those who apply first get money first. So, applying late can mean you might not get as much, or anything at all if funds are already exhausted. You can maximize your Pell Grant amount by applying before the deadline which varies by state. The grant application process starts with filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Don’t forget that there are also college scholarships which can help you pay for college as well. Almost all scholarships require you to fill out the FAFSA as the first step in the application process as well. For both scholarships and grants, it is worthwhile to do a little research on which ones you may be eligible for. Many scholarships have certain requirements like grade point average and academic programs and may require you to apply with other information besides the FAFSA.
Planning your finances for college starts with knowing how much is the Pell grant. The grant money can be used for many expenses related to getting your college education and doesn’t have to be repaid. The earlier you apply, the more likely you are to receive grant money because as always there will be more applicants than money available. Meeting the application deadline is the first step, but the sooner you apply, the more likely you are to receive the money you need for college.