What are Pell Grants – and Do You Qualify for This Free Money for College?

Updated Feb 5, 2026

What Are Pell Grants?

Pell Grants are federal college financial aid for low-income undergraduate students. These grants do not have to be repaid. The 50-year-old Pell Grant program is the largest source of grant aid for college students in the U.S, providing over $20 billion in need-based aid each year to over 6 million eligible students—approximately one in three undergraduate students.

Each year, the government sets the Maximum and Minimum Pell Grants amounts. For 2026-27, the Maximum Pell is $7,395 and the Minimum is $740.

Pell Grants are usually the first form of financial aid awarded to eligible students who attend colleges that participate in the federal student aid program. If you qualify for a Pell Grant, you will receive one of the following:

1. Maximum Pell Grant
2. Minimum Pell Grant
3. A calculated Pell Grant based on your Student Aid Index (SAI)

Am I Eligible for a Pell Grant?

To be considered for a Pell Grant (and all other federal aid and most college financial aid), you must file a completed FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for each year you attend college. However, eligibility for most Maximum and Minimum Pell Grants is determined separately from your SAI in the following ways:

Maximum and Minimum Pell Grant Eligibility

• Maximum Pell is automatically awarded to:
  • Dependent students whose parents are non-tax filers
  • Independent students who are non-tax filers
  • Dependent or independent students under the age of 33 whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty serving as a member of the Armed Forces post-9/11 or died in the line of duty while performing as a public safety officer
  • *Note: Students with a zero or negative SAI will qualify for a calculated Maximum Pell (see below).
• Other students will qualify for the Maximum or Minimum Pell Grants based on:
  • Family size
  • Family type (single parent, two-parent, non-parent independent student)
  • Prior-prior year (two years prior to the award year) adjusted gross income (AGI) as a percentage of the prior-prior year’s Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

The tables below show the family sizes and corresponding income levels that qualify dependent and independent students for the 2026-27 Maximum or Minimum Pell Grants. These thresholds are based on 2024 FPLs, the tax year reported on the 2026-27 FAFSA.

Calculated Pell Grant Based on SAI

If you don’t qualify for a Maximum or Minimum Pell Grant based on the criteria above, you will be evaluated for a Pell Grant based on your SAI using this equation:

Maximum Pell – Your SAI = Your Pell Award

Note: Negative SAIs are treated as zero in this equation

If the result is greater than that year’s Minimum Pell and less than the college’s COA (Cost of Attendance), you are eligible for that calculated Pell amount.

If your SAI is zero or negative, you qualify for a calculated Maximum Pell Grant.

If your SAI is larger than the Maximum Pell or your SAI-calculated Pell is less than the Minimum Pell, you won’t qualify for any Pell Grant.

Additional Pell Grant Information

1. Eligibility for Pell Grants is restored to students who:
   • Were unable to complete their program of study due to their school closing
   • Were falsely certified as eligible to receive federal financial aid
   • Had their loans discharged in a successful borrower defense claim
   • Had a drug-related conviction
2. Beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, Pell Grants will be available to eligible students enrolled in accredited short-term (8-15 weeks) workforce programs. To qualify under the Federal Workforce Pell Program, a training course must meet specific federal and state requirements, provide 150 to 600 hours of training, and last at least 8 weeks.

The Diminishing Buying Power of the Pell Grant

Your Net Price to attend college is the total amount your family pays through loans, savings, and/or income. The simplest way to calculate Net Price is to subtract the free money (grants and scholarships) you receive from the schools’ Cost of Attendance (COA).

In the past, Pell Grants significantly reduced the Net Price for low-income students The Maximum Pell once covered about 75% of the cost at a 4-year public college. Today, even though Pell Grants increase each year, those increases haven’t kept pace with rising COAs. Today’s Maximum Pell Grant covers less than 30% of those costs.

To address the diminishing buying power of a Pell Grant, some members of Congress have reintroduced the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act The proposal would increase the Maximum Pell to $14,000 over five years, with the goal of restoring coverage to about 50% of public college costs. This increase would also boost awards for all students who qualify for any level of Pell Grant.

Pay Less for College/The Must Have Guide to Affording Your Degree, 4th Edition offers a comprehensive guide to the Pell Grant and explains recent and upcoming changes to the FAFSA, PLUS Loans, and other college financial aid policies.