FAFSA shows Pell Grant eligibility - is it guaranteed at all schools?

The Pell Grant is indeed a federal grant, but there are some nuances to how it works. If your FAFSA shows Pell eligibility, your daughter should receive it at any eligible institution that participates in federal student aid programs (which is most accredited colleges). The amount may vary based on: - Full-time vs. part-time enrollment - Cost of attendance at the specific school - Length of attendance (full academic year vs. one semester) But the basic eligibility is determined by your SAI (Student Aid Index) from the FAFSA, not by individual schools. So yes, if she's eligible according to the FAFSA, that eligibility follows her to any participating institution.

my cousin got ellgible for pell but then when she started part time they cut it in half just fyi

Be careful! My son was eligible for the Pel Grant on his FAFSA too but when he got his aid package from State University they said he wasn't eligible anymore because they recalculated something. Make sure you doublecheck with each financial aid office!!!

PELL IS GUARANTEED IF U QUALIFY!!!!! schools cant just decide not to give it to u its federal $$$ not school $$$. my 3 kids all got it at different colleges. the only thing that can mess it up is if u do verification and something changes. otherwise its YOURS.

Financial aid counselor here. Just to clarify some misconceptions in this thread: 1. Pell Grant eligibility is determined federally based on your SAI (Student Aid Index) from the FAFSA 2. If you're Pell-eligible per the FAFSA, all participating institutions must award you the Pell Grant 3. The amount varies based on enrollment status (full-time receives 100%, three-quarter time 75%, half-time 50%, etc.) 4. Schools cannot reduce your Pell Grant to save their own institutional aid - that would be against federal regulations 5. What CAN happen is verification - about 30% of FAFSA filers are selected to verify their information, which could change your SAI and thus your Pell eligibility The confusion often happens when people see their initial FAFSA confirmation showing Pell eligibility, but then their final eligibility changes after verification.

I spent hours on the phone trying to reach FSA when we had a similar question about Pell Grant eligibility that wasn't clearly answered on their website. After multiple disconnected calls and being on hold forever, I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to an FSA agent within 10 minutes. The agent confirmed that Pell eligibility follows you to any school that participates in federal aid programs. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Saved me so much frustration.

This is actually a really good question that gets confused a lot! The Pell Grant is determined by your SAI (Student Aid Index) from the FAFSA. For the 2025-2026 year, if your SAI is below $6,656, you'll be eligible for some amount of Pell. The maximum Pell Grant for 2025-2026 is $7,395 for students with an SAI of 0. The important thing to understand is that Pell eligibility is portable - it follows your daughter to any Title IV participating institution (basically any accredited college). The school can't decide not to give her the Pell if she's eligible according to federal guidelines. Where schools have discretion is with their own institutional aid, not with federal grants like the Pell.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! This clarified a lot. Just to summarize what I've learned: - Pell Grant eligibility follows my daughter to any participating school - The amount can change based on enrollment status (full-time vs part-time) - Verification could potentially change our eligibility if selected - Schools must award the Pell if we're eligible - they can't withhold it This is all really reassuring. I've been stressing about college costs so knowing that at least this piece is guaranteed helps a lot with our planning.