Federal Pell Grant
A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid. Federal Pell Grants usually are awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate, or professional degree.
The U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula to evaluate Pell Grant eligibility by the information a student supplies on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This formula produces an SAI (Student Aid Index) number, which will determine if the student is eligible for the grant. Applicants must be undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's degree.
Amounts
2024-2025 Award Year
- The maximum Federal Pell Grant award amount is $7,395 and the minimum is $740 for the 2024–25 award year. Your initial Financial Aid Offer assumes full-time enrollment and will be adjusted if you enroll in less than full-time credit hours OR have less than full-time credit hours towards your program of study using the following Enrollment Intensity Formula.
| Credit Hours |
Enrollment Intensity Formula |
Enrollment Intensity | Enrollment Status Equivalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (or more) | 12 ÷ 12 = 1.0 | 100% | Full-Time |
| 11 | 11 ÷ 12 = 0.917 | 92% | Three-Quarter Time |
| 10 | 10 ÷ 12 = 0.833 | 83% | Three-Quarter Time |
| 9 | 9 ÷ 12 = 0.75 | 75% | Three-Quarter Time |
| 8 | 8 ÷ 12 = 0.667 | 67% | Half-Time |
| 7 | 7 ÷ 12 = 0.583 | 58% | Half-Time |
| 6 | 6 ÷ 12 = 0.50 | 50% | Half-Time |
| 5 | 5 ÷ 12 = 0.417 | 42% | Less-than-Half-Time |
| 4 | 4 ÷ 12 = 0.333 | 33% | Less-than-Half-Time |
| 3 | 3 ÷ 12 = 0.25 | 25% | Less-than-Half-Time |
| 2 | 2 ÷ 12 = 0.167 | 17% | Less-than-Half-Time |
| 1 | 1 ÷ 12 = 0.083 | 8% | Less-than-Half-Time |
How to calculate
If you are eligible for a $4,000 Pell Grant for the award year (Fall and Spring) and are enrolled full-time with all courses included in your program of study for both Fall semester and Spring semester, you'll likely receive $2,000 in the Fall and $2,000 in the Spring; however, if you are registered for 8 credit hours (all courses included in your program) in the fall semester, then you will receive up to $1,340. The calculation is down below:
| Award Amount | Enrollment Intensity Percentage | Calculation | Anticipated Amount |
| $2,000 | 67% | $2,000 × 0.67 | $1,340 |
Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Use
The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds a student may receive over his or her lifetime is limited by a new federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding a student can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.
You can view your Lifetime Eligibility (LEU) percentage by logging on to the Federal Student Aid using your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID password and then viewing your LEU. The LEU will be found on the Financial Aid Review page. This amount will increase if you receive any additional Pell Grant disbursements over time from Clayton State or any other college/university in the country.