<p>Could someone explain how it will be determined as to how much one will get in Pell Grants, and what the upper end of the EFC is to qualify? How will a student know if he/she qualifies, and for how much they will qualify for? Does the government pay the Pell Grant directly to the school, splitting payment into 2 (one payment for fall and one for spring semesters)?</p>
<p>The EFC cut off for the Pell grant is 4617. A 0 EFC gets the max Pell of $5550. As the EFC increases the Pell decreases almost inversely. At EFC 4617 the Pell is 1176. At EFC 4618 there is no Pell.</p>
<p>Pell also takes into account whether the student is full time or not. Full time = full Pell the student is eligible for based on EFC. Less than full time it goes down (3/4, 1/2 and below half).</p>
<p>Pell is disbursed by school period. A school with semesters would have half the annual Pell disbursed in fall and half in Spring (someone attending only 1 semester would only get that semester’s Pell).</p>
<p>There is now additional Pell available for summer (there was not before). All sorts of rules for that.</p>
<p>So does each school use a chart and then get this money from the federal government and apply it to the COA of each student that qualifies? Do schools want to have a certain number of students that are Pell Grant eligible? Also, for those that are Pell Grant eligible, are those students eligible for more work study than if they were not? Do Pell Grants have any relation to being eligible for Perkins Loans?</p>
<p>Pell is paid direct to the school. If there is any money left after direct expenses it is refunded to the student.</p>
<p>The other aid is all dependent on the school and its policies. WS is need based so there must be remaining need. Schools have limited WS funds and set their own criteria for awarding them. Perkins are also very limited and again the schools set their own criteria (though apparently there may be some changes to perkins, including that it may no longer be subsidized). My daughter has the pell and she has had Perkins some year and not others. It seems to be related to how much remaining need she has after all her grants and scholarships are applied. This year she got the SMART grant which dropped her need a lot so no WS, no perkins and a small sub Stafford. (though oddly at the beginning of this semster they offered her a couple of hundred of dollars Perkins - never been offered additional during the year before).</p>
<p>It sounds like a student might have a better chance at Perkins Loans or W/S if they attend a school with less Pell Grant eligible students, and for that matter, leaning more toward having wealthier students that do not qualify for anything more than subsidized Staffords. Is that correct? Also, are subsidized Staffords limited as well to meet COA?</p>
<p>Perkins loans are given to the “neediest of students” . It is very likely that the student who is getting a perkins loan is probably a Pell grant recipient. </p>
<p>there are also different types of work study:</p>
<p>Federal work study, employment and non-work study.</p>
<p>The Federal Work-Study Program (FWSP) is a federally funded program and was established by Congress through the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist needy students earn money to meet educational costs. Participation in the program is determined by the student’s financial need and is awarded as part of the financial aid package. Earnings are not applied directly to the tuition bill, but are used by the student to cover costs such as books, personal items, and transportation. FWSP funds may only be used on campus with on-campus employers or with approved off-campus community service employers.</p>
<p>Employment is an alternative form of funding for student who do not qualify for work-study funds, usually for citizenship reasons. Regulation of the Employment program mirrors the FWSP in that a student must show a financial need to be eligible for such funding. Employment funds are usually not permissible for off-campus use.</p>
<p>non workstudy postions are for students who are not FWS or employment eligible. These types of jobs are usually available on campus through
food services , bookstore, etc.</p>
<p>sybbie, thanks. Actually, about Perkins, I have to say that my son was offered a small Perkins loan by one school where he applied for FA the year he was senior in high school. He was far from Pell Grant eligible. He was not offered a Perkins loan by any other school, but the one that offered it also did not offer merit aid or FA grants. Needless to say he did not attend that school. It was the worst package we saw and was just loaded with student loans.</p>
<p>Pell grant depends on the FAFSA only right?</p>
<p>For example, if I get a FAFSA EFC of $2000, but, with my CSS PROFILE + FAFSA, my college determines my EFC is $5000. Will I get the Pell grant?</p>