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A Comprehensive Guide To Pell Grant Requirements

By Gale Bedden


Making it big in one's chosen career path is mainly dependent on attaining a college degree. This can however be nothing more than a distant dream if one doesn't meet the basic criteria set for Pell Grant requirements. This is so because many families cannot afford to meet the hefty tuition costs without some form of assistance. The program rating system is also replicated across many state and federal programs.

The United States Department of Education has an in-depth guideline for anyone interested in applying to compare their application for eligibility. The guide draws extensively from the 1965 legislation known as the Higher Education Act (HEA) that was designed to aid students from low income families to afford their fee requirements.

The application procedure starts with completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) form available at the department's website. Once the details have been duly filled and submitted, the application is subjected to a procedure set down in law to test for eligibility. A key determinant in this process is the value indicated by the applicant as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This needs not be taken to literally mean that this will be the amount the applicant's family will be required to pay. Its importance is to serve as a standard benchmark over which each application will be deemed as deserving.

A student making an application will need to certify their status. Part-time students are not eligible in all circumstances for an award but full time learners can get grants of even upward of four thousand dollars annually. Pell Grant aid is almost exclusively used to fund undergraduate students undergoing training in recognized institutions. However, in certain cases students enrolled in some post baccalaureate certificate programs like teacher education can apply and be awarded aid.

Applicants need to be warned that their applications will be rejected if they have previously been convicted on a federal or state-wide drug charge, whether it was for possession or selling. This form of ban is only applicable if the conviction happened during the period of time when they were enrolled for the program that they are seeking financial assistance in pursuing. There are exceptions where an appeal can successfully be made if the candidate passes two unannounced drug tests that are carried in accordance to guidelines and procedure sanctioned by the Department of Education.

Applicants with intellectual disabilities fall under a special group and they will receive preferential aid if they meet certain requirements. They have to be enrolled or eligible for enrollment in a Comprehensive Transition and Post-secondary Program (CTP) for learners who have learning disabilities. As a matter of course they will be required to fulfill the rest of the grant's eligibility criteria.

Further requirement details include the need to be certified as being under no default in a federal loan repayments awarded previously. Applicants will also need to show they do not owe the government any money in another grant program. It is also necessary to make a commitment to put the money given to educational purposes only.

The craving for college education is considered a good attainment in the life of a person. To realize the dream however, one can be severely hindered by hefty tuition fee charges. This is the reason why meeting the basic Pell Grant requirements is a priority for many aspiring college students.




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