Federal Pell Grant Application

When you are ready to apply for a Pell Grant you must first understand that the only application you need to complete is the FAFSA, as this is the Department of Education’s official federal Pell Grant application that they require all students to fill out in order to become eligible for the vast litany of federal aid that is in existence. The FAFSA, or free application for student aid, is a sort of universal application that can allow you to apply for all the different types of federal aid at once, including the Pell Grant, federal student loans, and other kinds of federal aid. It is actually fairly easy to complete, and by knowing what to expect before you go ahead and begin to fill one out you can make the process go along much smoother.

You first must realize that you can fill out either a written copy of the FAFSA, or its online version. Filling out a written copy of the FAFSA will take longer to do, and will also take longer to get reviewed when compared to its online counterpart, and it is therefore not recommended unless you cannot get online for some reason. When you are concerned with getting Pell Grant aid it is crucial that you know what your EFC, and Pell Grant eligibility is as soon as possible, and by filling out a Pell Grant application online you will be able to do just that almost instantaneously when compared to the written form of the FAFSA.

When you are ready to fill out the actual Pell Grant application form you can go onto the website fafsa.ed.gov and simply follow the appropriate instructions. You will need a PIN before you can go ahead and fill out the form, and you can obtain one by staying on the same website, and by following the instructions that can allow you to get your PIN as soon as possible. The PIN is a code that you need if you want to sign your FAFSA electronically, and without one you won’t be able to fill out the online version of the FAFSA. If you don’t want to get a PIN and sign your Pell Grant application online then you’ll have to obtain a written copy and mail it in to the Department of Education. You can get a copy by either going to your school’s financial aid office, by going to website fafsa.ed.gov., or by calling the phone number 1-800-4-fed-aid.

Whether you fill out a written FAFSA, or the online version, you must have certain kinds of information at your disposal to make the process as quick, and as efficient as it can be. The following is a listing of the most vital information and documents you should have close by when filling out a FAFSA:

-Your current driver’s license that has not expired
-Your social security number
-All of your bank statements and other records
-All of your investment portfolio records and statements
-If you own a home, any pertinent mortgage documentation and records
-If you own a business or farm, all the accompanying documentation and records
-If you are not a United States citizen, your permanent registration card, or alien registration card
-If you are still considered a dependent, your parents tax documents
-If you are married, your spouse’s tax documents
-All of your tax returns and associated documents from the previous year including W-2 forms

Having this information by your side will make filling out your FAFSA a breeze, and once you have filled it out completely an SAR should be generated. The SAR, or Student Aid Report, is an accounting of all the information you provided on your FAFSA, and also includes your EFC, and your Pell Grant eligibility status. You should go over it to make sure that all of the information that you submitted is correct, and to see what both your EFC is, and what your eligibility status is for the Pell Grant. To become eligible for the Pell you need to have an EFC that is lower than 4,617 for the 2010-11 school year, and by viewing your SAR you should be able to determine this.

Applying for a Pell Grant is really this simple, and in the end you don’t have to worry about filling out numerous Pell Grant applications, or be put through any sort of run-around processes. No, in the end it all comes down to the information you submit via your FAFSA, and just make sure that you apply by the appropriate deadlines so that your application can get reviewed in time. The earliest you can submit a FAFSA is January first for the upcoming fall semester, and the latest you can submit one is June thirtieth. I wouldn’t recommend waiting that long though because the funding your school receives for the Pell Grant may be gone by then, and it is therefore recommended that you submit your FAFSA by March first.