Pell Grants - Help with Financing Your Education
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The institution can opt to directly pay the money for the grant to the student, directly apply the Pell Grant to the school costs for the academic year or find a combination of the two. The institution is required to tell you the student in writing how much money they have been awarded by the Federal Pell Grant Program and how and when the student is going to be paid this money.

To be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant Program the student is required to be a United States citizen or an eligible non-citizen (this means those with a Alien Registration Card or those with a Arrival Departure Record with specific designations). The student must also be accepted for enrollment into an eligible institution of higher education.

The Federal Pell Grant Program is not accessible for graduate students, save for one exception - those that are enrolled in eligible program leading to a professional certification in teaching may be eligible.

The total grants were $13,660,771,000 in 2007; approximately $16,256,000,000 in 2008; and approximately $18,941,059,000 in 2009. Depending on the need of the student and how much they are assigned, the grant received through the program can range between $400 and $4,731; on average, a student can expect around $2,945.

Approximately 5,600,000 recipients are expected for the program. Starting in the 2011-2012 school year congress has voted to lower the number of Pell Grants that are to be distributed and this would lead to many students who currently receive lower Pell Grants to become ineligible. This is not a certainty however because of the fact that the Senate did not yet vote on these budgetary cuts.



Pell Grants - Help with Financing Your Education
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About The Author You can find more information on government grants, government spending and other federal programs at Top Government Grants. We also provide additional resources on grants for education from major foundations and the federal government on the Top Education Grants Website. Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business

Additional Resources

category - Education Grants

Financing Your Education with Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants assist those undergraduate students enrolled in a postsecondary education that cannot afford their educational expenses without financial assistance. The grant is in place to help them meet their educational expenses to the successful completion of a postsecondary degree.

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Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program
In keeping with this mission, the National Institutes of Food and Agriculture has recently established the Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program in an attempt to conduct agricultural research studies that address high priority concerns of tribal, national, or multistate significance.

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What does it mean that Federal Student Aid is a PBO?
A PBO is a Performance Based Organization representing an initiative that was created in order to help the government operate more effectively and efficiently. When people call Federal Student Aid a PBO, this means that they are committed to and hold the same standards of the Performance Based Organization.

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What Are Title IV Programs and How Can They Help You Pay for College
The Title IV programs help college students save money and protects their rights, is a service provided by the government that is responsible for higher education to help prepare undergrads for the real job market after they graduate.

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