Pell Grant Factors

• Your eligibility for a federal Pell Grant is based on a few factors, none of which accounts for whether you get student loans. The main factors in determining whether you get a Pell Grant are your family's expected contribution for college costs, as determined by the information you enter on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and the cost of attending the college you have selected. The Pell Grant is reduced if you are attending part-time or if you will be attending for less than a full academic year. Student loans have no bearing on Pell Grants.
  
  

Applying for Pell Grant

• Like all other types of federal financial aid, you apply for a Pell Grant by submitting the FAFSA. The application gathers data about your finances. You and your parents will need your bank account statements and tax returns to fill out the application. When you complete the application, the student aid report shows your expected family contribution (EFC), which is one of the main factors in determining your Pell Grant eligibility. You have to fill out the FAFSA every year to re-apply for financial aid.
  
  

Pell Grant Amount

• If you are a full-time undergraduate student, you can receive a Pell Grant of up to $5,500 for each academic year, as of 2011. The grant might be smaller if you are a part-time student or if there is not much difference between your family's ability to pay for school and the cost of attendance. If one of your parents died due to service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, and you qualify for a Pell Grant, you will receive the maximum award amount, regardless of full-time or part-time status and the cost of attending school.
  
  

Student Loans

• If the Pell Grant and other federal grants, school grants and scholarships do not provide enough money for you to pay for school, then you should consider taking out a student loan. Most students can take out federal Stafford loans, which have a fixed interest rate of 6.8 percent, as of 2011. You might even qualify for a subsidized Stafford loan, which has a lower interest rate and the benefit of the government's covering the interest while you are in school. Private student loans are another option, but you should only get those if you have reached the maximum amount on federal student loans.