My Pell Grant

As many students may or may not know, one of the best sources for need-based aid is the Federal Pell Grant. Unlike much other government based loans or scholarships this one does not have to be paid back

There are many ways to make sure that you get the maximum pell grant for every year that you attend college. Your Pell Grant is based on your expected family contribution otherwise known as the EFC . Simply put the lower you or expected family contribution, the more money you will receive.

Below are a few tips to make sure you get the maximum Pell Grant every year:

1) Make sure that you do not include retirement plans on your FAFSA form. Most retirement plans are pretax dollars and you can’t touch them before you are 59.5 years old. if you do take them out before then you will get a penalty

2) Spend down any money in your bank accounts. If you have to make any kind, make of major purchase, do so before you complete your FAFSA form, otherwise you will need to report this money your bank account.

3) The more children in school at the same time the better! For each student in school your expected family contribution gets cut in half. In other words if you have a expected family contribution of $5,000, yet there are two children in school, the EFC for each student will be $2500!

The maximum PELL GRANT amount for 2010 school year is $5,350. Of course this amount depends on the student’s EFC and many other things. You need to take into account the cost of the school, is a student part-time or full-time etc. If for some reason you feel that you were entitled to the maximum Pell Grant you may want to talk to someone at the financial aid office. They may or may not be able to do anything about it but it never hurts to ask.

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EFC means expected family contribution. This determines the eligibility of a student for college scholarships. The family’s financial history is looked into to estimate how much they can spend on their children’s education. Accordingly the federal government decides on the amount of money that will be awarded to the student. Since the Pell grant award is free money, EFC is looked into. If the student (more…)