<p>What determine the eligibilities of Pell Grants??</p>
<p>I have a friend. His parents make twice as much as mine. But he qualified for pell grant while I don't.
How so?</p>
<p>Pell grant is based on EFC which is based on Income, Assets (Some assets are protected under FAFSA such as retirement accounts, primary residence - also the older the oldest parent the higher the asset protection), number of people in the family, number of people in college - lots of variables. So it is pretty hard to compare your eligibility to someone elses unless you know everything about their financial picture.</p>
<p>Does it matter whether you are a dependent from the parents?</p>
<p>If you are not a dependant for financial aid purposes (totally different from taxpurposes) then parents income would not be considered. But the criteria for not being considered dependant is pretty strict. (my son for instance has lived independantly for the last year and a half - paying his own rent, bills etc, and working full time - is not a dependant for tax purposes but is a dependant for financial aid purposes now that he is returning to school).</p>