FAFSA Changes Mean More Pell Grants For Students With Kids, Here’s Why (2024)

FAQs

FAFSA Changes Mean More Pell Grants For Students With Kids, Here’s Why? ›

The new changes should make many parenting students eligible for grants who were previously ineligible due to lower income cutoffs. In addition to helping make college more affordable for current parenting students, the changes may encourage enrollment from parents who are considering going to college later in life.

If you did not attend one or more courses, we will reduce your grant amount accordingly and you will be billed. Receiving one or more non-passing grades with no record of attendance may also result in your Pell Grant being revised and could also result in a bill.

The 2024-2025 FAFSA includes even more aid for single parents, including expanded eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant funds and a larger increase in Income Protection Allowance (IPA).

Award amounts can change yearly. The maximum Federal Pell Grant award is $7,395 for the 2023–24 award year (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024). The maximum Federal Pell Grant award is $7,395 for the 2024–25 award year (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025). your plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.

Changes to FAFSA questions: The number of questions will be reduced and the application will maximize the use of previously collected data. Some questions will have additional available responses to better describe an applicant's unique circ*mstances.

It's possible that you might not receive your entire scheduled award for an award year. There are a few reasons for this, the most common of which are that you are not enrolled for the full year or that you are not enrolled full-time, or both.

For instance, you might no longer meet one of the basic eligibility criteria, or you might have changed majors and no longer be enrolled in a program that makes you eligible to receive a specific type of funding (for instance, a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education [TEACH] Grant).

This change was made to reduce the number of variables used to calculate Pell Grant eligibility and make it easier for families to determine their eligibility based on family size and income only. As well, the change does create a more equitable system.

The EFC is now the SAI

As part of the FASFA changes, the term “Expected Family Contribution” or “EFC,” which has been used for many years to calculate students' expected financial need for college, will be replaced with the term “Student Aid Index” or “SAI”.

Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA, each contributor will complete their own section of the form.

What is the new formula for the Pell Grant? ›

The new formula expands access to Pell Grants to students with an: AGI less than or equal to 225% of the poverty line (single parent) AGI less than or equal to 175% of the poverty line (not a single parent).

There is a maximum amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you can receive over your lifetime. You can receive the Pell Grant for no more than 12 terms or the equivalent (roughly six years) or 600%.

The Pell Grant is one of the most popular forms of financial aid for undergraduate students. It is free money that you do not have to pay back. However, students who leave school early may have to give the money back to the school.

What's New. The 2024–25 FAFSA form expands eligibility for federal student aid, including Pell Grants, and provides a streamlined user experience. An estimated 7.3 million students from low-income backgrounds will be eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants due to updates to student aid calculations.

There is no income cut-off to qualify for federal student aid. Many factors—such as the size of your family and your year in school—are taken into account.

Changes in funding

Your financial aid award is based on projected funding from federal, state, and institutional sources. If the projected funding is more than the actual funding available, your financial aid award(s) will be adjusted to reflect these changes.

The amount granted depends on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), cost of attendance, your status as a full-time or part-time student, and your plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.

Since Biden took office, the award has increased by $900, and the proposal for fiscal year 2025 would raise it from $7,395 to $8,145. (Congress has yet to adopt a fiscal year 2024 budget, so the specific figures could change.)

The FAFSA4caster isn't the actual application, so using it doesn't mean you've submitted an application for the Pell Grant. Although the calculator is pretty accurate, there's no guarantee that you'll receive the exact amount of aid estimated by the 4caster.