Education Articles from College Matching Service

What is a Federal Pell Grant? A Federal Pell Grant is awarded by the federal government to both part time and full time college and vocational students.

The eligibility criteria of Federal Pell Grant: To be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant you need to be a student whose house income is up to $50,000. However, in many cases Federal Pell Grant goes to those students whose house income is about $20,000. Moreover, there is no application fee for applying for Federal Pell Grant.

You can also receive a Federal Pell Grant for your undergraduate study, your first professional degree or baccalaureate.

Factors determining the award of the Federal Pell Grant: There is a formula that works behind the award of the Federal Pell Grant. Whether you would get the award or not depends on a lot of factors. These are:

a) The financial situation of your family

b) The number of members in your family

c) What type of course you are following- that is whether it is full time or part time

d) The tuition price of your program

Where can you use the Federal Pell Grant? The Federal Pell Grant can be used in almost any school that you attend. As a precaution, ask the financial aid administrator whether the school and the course that you have chosen supports the Federal Pell Grant.

How to apply for a Federal Pell Grant? You need to complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application form if you want to apply for a Federal Pell Grant. Some schools prefer that the application form is filled electronically.

After you have submitted the application form, you need to wait for processing time before you get the grant. If you want to know the status of your application you can call up the Federal Student Aid Information Center.