Federal Pell Grant Program
Award Rules and Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act
The Federal Pell Grant program, authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting postsecondary education students. The program provided approximately $31 billion in aid to approximately 6.5 million undergraduate students in FY2023. Pell Grants are need-based aid that is intended to be the foundation for all federal need-based student aid awarded to undergraduates. In award year (AY) 2019-2020, approximately 40% of undergraduates received federal Pell Grants. Unlike loans, students are not required to repay Pell Grants. The discretionary statutory authority for the Pell Grant program was…
