Should I reject this Pell Grant?

Paying for College
1

I am an undergraduate student living with my parents and when I have filed the FAFSA in previous years, I have always provided information about my parents’ income. I have never received a Pell Grant before. When filing the 2020-2021 FAFSA this year, it gave me the option to skip questions about my parents (I assume because I was born before Jan. 1, 1997), which I did. Now I have been offered a few thousand dollars of Pell Grant money per semester.

My parents aren’t rich and they both work hard, but I certainly don’t need this money to pay for college. If I accept the money, am I taking it away from someone who actually needs it? Or is the federal pool of money large enough that there are funds left over each year anyway? I would appreciate some sources on this.

Thanks!

2

The Pell is an entitlement. If you qualify, take it. Use it for something you need related to college.

3

Your school has to give you the Pell grant if you qualify for it. It’s a nice problem to have. We had grad students who filed a FAFSA to qualify for work study and ended up with an institutional grant. Some had parents or grandparents paying for school and felt bad taking the money. I told them that if their parents also felt that way, they could donate the grant money to the school for scholarships (and get a tax write-off).