Federal Pell Grant
Otherwise eligible students must be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program and cannot have previously earned a bachelors degree. Once a student earns a bachelors degree, or completes all the requirements at UGA for a bachelors degree, the student is no longer eligible for the Federal Pell Grant.
Concurrent Enrollment At Two Colleges:
Federal law does not permit a student to receive a Federal Pell Grant from more than one school for the same period of enrollment. The U.S. Department of Education notifies the colleges when this happens. Should this occur, the student will be required to repay the Federal Pell Grant funds to either UGA or the other school.
Federal Pell Grant Duration of Eligibility:
Public Law 112-74 amended HEA section 401(c)(5) to reduce the maximum duration of a student's eligibility to receive a Federal Pell Grant from 18 full-time semesters to 12 full-time semesters. This provision applies to all students effective with the 2012-13 award year. The calculation of the duration of a student's eligibility will include all years of the student's receipt of Pell Grant.
For further information on calculating remaining Pell Grant eligibility, click here.
Federal Pell Grant Award Consideration Deadline For An Award Year:
The U.S. Department of Education must process a student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and calculate an official Federal Pell Grant eligible Expected Family Contribution (EFC) before the end of the student's last term of attendance or June 30 of the applicable financial aid award year (whichever is earlier) in order for the student to be considered for the Federal Pell Grant for that award year. See Application Process for further application information.
Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award:
The Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award is the maximum amount an otherwise eligible student can receive during the award year. The award year begins on July 1 of one year and ends on June 30 of the next year. A student's Scheduled Award is established by the Pell Grant payment schedule the U.S. Department of Education issues each award year. The amount of an eligible student's Scheduled Award is based on the student's Cost of Attendance (COA) and the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as calculated by the U.S. Department of Education through the financial aid Application Process.
For the 2011-12 Award Year, the maximum Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award is $5,550 and the minimum Scheduled Award is $555. The Federal Pell Grant eligible EFC range is 0 to 5273.
For the 2012-13 Award Year, the maximum Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award is $5,550 and the minimum Scheduled Award is $577. The Federal Pell Grant eligible EFC range is 0 to 4995.
Otherwise eligible students enrolled in 12 or more hours in the fall and spring semesters will receive up to one-half of a Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award each semester.
When students receive one-half of their Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award in the fall and the other half in the spring, no Federal Pell Grant funds remain for the summer.
Determining Enrollment Status For Federal Pell Grant:
Since approximately 95 percent of UGA undergraduate students enroll in at least 12 hours each fall and spring semester, we initially award students the Pell Grant with the assumption they will enroll on a full-time basis during these terms. As required by federal aid law, the semester award amounts for part-time students (enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours) are subsequently prorated based on the students' enrollment status and is determined by the Pell Grant payment schedule published each year by the U. S. Department of Education.
A student's enrollment status for Pell Grant purposes is determined by the number of credit hours applicable to the student's degree in which the student is enrolled as of the end of the scheduled Drop/Add period for the semester, or the date the student completed the FAFSA Application Process, whichever is later.
Students who drop credit hours during registration periods after their Federal Pell Grant funds have been disbursed for the term which reduces their enrollment status will be required to repay any resulting overpayment to the Student Accounts office. A student's enrollment status for Federal Pell Grant purposes is determined as follows:
- 12 or more credit hours (full-time enrollment status) students are eligible for their full-time Pell amount for the term.
- 9-11 credit hours (3/4 time enrollment status), students are eligible for three-fourths of their full-time Pell amount for the term if they have a qualifying EFC.
- 6-8 credit hours (1/2 time enrollment status), students are eligible for one-half of their full-time Pell amount for the term if they have a qualifying EFC.
- 1-5 credit hours (less-than-half-time enrollment status), students are eligible for one-fourth of their full-time Pell amount for the term if they have a qualifying EFC.