What Are Pell Grants?
Pell Grants are federal grants giving by the U.S. Department of Education to help students attend college. They are full grants, requiring absolutely no repayment, and are awarded solely based on financial need. The need criteria for Pell Grants is based on a formula dictated by the U.S. Congress, and is determined by information submitted by applicants or a proxy, usually their parent, via the Federal Application For Student Aid (FAFSA). In 1973, after a few years of agitation, Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell helped pass a bill introducing assistance for education. A Democrat who had arrived in office in 1960, after years of service during World War II, and years on reserve following, Pell believed strongly in the value of education. The Pell Grants, originally known as Basic Educational Opportunity Grants, were largely intended to help prisoners attend college on being released from prison. Pell Grants were thus seen as a way of helping to reduce prisoners returning to prison, by
Hi- Pell grants are given on the basis of need. The maximum is $4,731. The individual school decides how this money is disbursed. Some schools apply it directly to tuition; others give the student a check; others combine both methods. You can get additional grants for tuition, but usually it is the Pell that is applied first. It is looked at as the basis for everything else.
