How to Apply for a Pell Grant

There are students out there who get confused about the actual Pell Grant application they need to fill out, when in reality the only application they need to fill out to become eligible for the Pell Grant is the FAFSA. The FAFSA is the government’s universal application for virtually every kind of federal aid that is in existence, and by filing out a FAFSA correctly, and by the appropriate deadlines you should automatically be putting yourself in contention for the Pell Grant. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll become eligible to receive the Pell Grant, and it only means that your application will be reviewed to determine if you can become eligible to receive a Pell Grant.

You have the option to fill out a written FAFSA, or an online version. It is highly recommended that you choose to fill out the online version of this Pell Grant application, as it is a much more efficient process overall, and is typically highly preferred when compared to its written counterpart. If you do decide to fill out a written application you can obtain one from your school, call this number and request one 1-800-4-fed-aid, or request one online. If you choose to fill one out online, you first need to obtain a PIN number, and that can be done on the Department of Education’s official FAFSA website, fafsa.ed.gov. A PIN is essentially a number that can allow you to provide an electronic signature online, and if you choose to fill out the online version of the FAFSA you must have your PIN to do just that.

When you are ready to fill out your FAFSA you should have the following information and documentation by your site:

*Social security number
*W-2 forms, and federal tax returns from previous year
*If dependent, your parents tax documents
*Driver’s license
*If married, spouse’s tax documents
*Current untaxed income statements from previous year
*Investment records and statements
*Alien registration card, or permanent resident card (if not a U.S. citizen)
*Bank statements
*Mortgage information
*Business and farm records

Once you have this information by your side it should not be that difficult to fill out your FAFSA in about an hour or two. If you filled one out online before then the process is much easier, as you only need to go in and update the previous information you submitted during the prior year. After you are done filling it out and have officially submitted it you should receive a Student Aid Report, or SAR, that details the information you provided within your FAFSA. Within the SAR should be your EFC, and your eligibility status for the Pell Grant. If it states that your are eligible then that means you should be able to receive some funding by way of the Pell Grant for the upcoming school year. You then simply have to wait until your school sends you an award letter in the mail, as this typically happens during the spring. Remember that the FAFSA is the official Pell Grant application that you need to be attention to, and the absolute deadline for submitting one is June, 30 for the upcoming school year.