Federal Pell Grant Amounts Change for 2010-2011

The federal Pell grant payment schedules for 2010-2011 were set up in January- and then they were redone in April.



The reason? The new health care bill also included SAFRA (Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act). The final version of this bill froze the top award at $5,550 until the 2013-2014 school year. However, it also increased the maximum FAFSA EFC allowed to receive an award- from 4617 to 5273.

So, the U.S. Department of Education had to revise the Pell grant payment schedules to allow more students to get awards, while using the same amount of funding allocated in January.

The result?

1. No change for students with a FAFSA EFC of 0-4617, and a cost of attendance more than $5,550.
2. Students with an EFC of 4618-5273, and a cost of attendance of $5,550+ now meet Pell grant qualifications and will get an award.
3. Some students with EFC's of 4618-5273, and a cost of attendance of $4,900-5,549, will get awards.
4. Students who already qualified for awards with an EFC of less than 4618, and whose cost of attendance is less than $5,550 will receive lower awards than planned before this law passed.

Number 4 really hurts students who attend community colleges (many of whom supported SAFRA). For instance, a student with a "0" EFC who is attending a community college at a cost of $4,700, would have been scheduled to get a federal Pell grant of $5,440 for 2010-2011 (using the January numbers). In April, that grant was cut to $4,750.

A student with the highest allowable EFC and cost of attendance for an award, will get $550. As one reader told me, "Now, all I have to do is come up with the other $29,500." (He was obviously looking at going to a private school.)

So, was this the right way of dividing up the available funds? Is the government spreading the money around too thinly for it to effectively help anyone?

How do You Feel about Federal Pell Grant Changes?

What's your opinion? Do they help, do they hurt, or are they going to make no difference at all?

Click to see how other visitors feel about these changes.

Learn about your overall eligibility for the program (and don't forget about the new federal eligibility for summer sessions.

To check your award amounts for different colleges or enrollment status, use the Pell grant calculator.

Finally, when you get your award, make sure that you continue to meet the requirements for future Pell money.

return from federal Pell grant changes to Pell grant

return from federal Pell grant changes to college loan consultant homepage