Federal Pell Grants

Eligibility

The Federal Pell Grant is available to undergraduate students who:

  • have filed a FAFSA for the relevant academic year before the end of their enrollment period,
  • have a completed FAFSA that has been fully processed by the FAFSA Processing System before the end of their period of enrollment,
  • are pursuing their first bachelor’s degree,
  • meet the federal basic eligibility criteria,
  • are enrolled in credit-bearing courses, and
  • have not used more than six full-time years (600%) or 12 full-time semesters of Pell (also called Pell Lifetime Eligibility Usage or LEU).

Learn more about the Federal Pell Grant on the Federal Student Aid Portal and the article “Understanding the Federal Pell Grant.”

Enrollment Intensity and Pell Amounts

The amount of the Federal Pell Grant a student may receive will change based on the number of credits (down to the half-credit) for which a student enrolls. This is outlined in detail in the article: “How to Calculate Your Federal Pell Grant.”

Year-Round Pell (Aid for Fall, Spring, and Summer)

The Federal Pell Grant is available for full- or part-time study. Students may receive a summer Pell grant, provided they have not exceeded the 150% annual Pell grant limit. Refer to the article “Understanding the 150% Pell Annual Limit” to learn more about year-round Pell.

Winter Session

The winter session is considered a module of the spring semester. Consequently, there is no separate Pell grant for the winter like there is for the summer. Therefore, winter credits loads and regular spring credits loads combine to determine the total number of credits used to determine the amount of your spring Federal Pell Grant.

Additional Winter Costs

Because the winter session is a separate module, it incurs its own separate per-tuition cost. Students planning to attend the winter should factor in these additional per-credit costs before registering. Students who are unsure about how their costs will be met by available aid programs should schedule a financial aid planning session with a financial aid adviser.

Read our Financial Aid Eligibility for Winter Intersession FAQ to learn more about winter intersession costs and financial aid eligibility.

Pell Not Available when Withdrawing from Winter

Important: Any winter session course in which you receive a W grade of any kind will not be counted toward your spring financial aid eligibility. This is because your enrollment for the spring term is determined by the census date in the spring semester. Students who withdraw before the census date lose their Pell eligibility for the course.

Pell Articles and Resources

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