College Student Loans Blog

Pell Grants are need based grants for low income students. They are provided by the Department of Education based on financial need. These grants are not given to the student but they are given to the school to be used for the student. The participating college may handle the money in one of three ways. The college or university will either apply all the money to the student’s school bill, they will give the money to the student to pay the school bill, or they will combine these two methods. The money is disbursed once per term whatever the term is for that school, either semester, trimester, or quarter.

The grants themselves equal about $5,400 per year per student and the amount the student receives is based on several conditions. These are:
 How much the student’s family can afford to pay or be expected to be able to afford to pay.
 How much the chosen school costs per year.
 How long the student attends, whether all year or a portion of the year.

This money is given to one school per student. Therefore, if for some reason the student is taking classes at two schools of higher education at the same time, the student will be able to designate only one of those schools to receive the Pell Grant money.

Which students are eligible for the Pell Grant and how much the student can receive in funds is determined by the Free Application for Federal Aid. This form should be filed as close to beginning of the year in which he or she expects to be in school as possible. However, the student must have access to his or her own income tax information for the year if the student lives independently or to the family’s income tax information as well as the net assets of the student and/or family.

Once the FAFSA is received and processed, the student will receive a copy of the Student Aid Report, also known as the SAR, and the school will receive the Institutional Student Information Record, known as the ISIR. Both student and school, if the school is chosen when the FAFSA is submitted, will know how much grant aid is available.

From that point, the student and his or her family can then determine how much he or she will need in the way of college loans to supplement whatever aid is given through the Pell Grant. There are many kinds of loans available, both to the student and the parent. You can find lots of information online as well as through the financial aid office at the college or university of your choice.