Appropriations

• Funds are appropriated each year for the Federal Pell Grant. According to a February 2011 letter to financial aid professionals, President Barack Obama signed the Continuing Appropriations Amendment in December 2010 establishing the 2011-2012 award at $4,860, unchanged from the 2010-2011 award year. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act automatically increases the maximum award. So the maximum amount that any student can obtain for the 2011-2012 academic year is $5,550. The Higher Education Opportunity and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Acts of 2010 determined the minimum award for 2011-2012 at $555.
  
  

Expected Family Contribution

• All information input into a FAFSA determines the expected family contribution -- EFC -- to that student's education. You will find the EFC on the top of your Student Aid Report -- SAR. The maximum EFC for a student to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant is $5,273. Make certain that all parental and student information is accurate so you will not have to make corrections to your SAR, as the Pell Grant is first come, first served.
  
  

Grant Elimination

• A Republican spending bill passed the House of Representatives in February 2011. If it passes the Senate and the President signs the bill, then the second Pell award would be eliminated for summer 2011 for students who are at least half-time. The federal appropriations would decrease the maximum Pell Grant by 15 percent or $845, knocking 1.7 million students out of the running for the grant.
  
  

Give Yourself An Edge

• Maximize your competitive edge despite Federal budget woes that may cut into Pell Grant funding by filling out your FAFSA correctly the first time and submitting it by priority deadline of March 2, which is subject to change, so check your FAFSA. There is nothing that you can do to change the appropriations and spending bills that cut into your federal financial aid. Control what you can -- be accurate, be timely.