Federal Pell Grants
Pell Grant Eligibility
Federal Pell Grants are available to undergraduate students who:
- have filed a FAFSA for the relevant academic year,
- are pursuing their first bachelor's degree,
- meet the federal basic eligibility criteria,
- are enrolled in credit-bearing courses, and
- have not used more than six full-time years or 12 full-time semesters of Pell (also called Pell Lifetime Eligibility Usage or LEU).
Five Quick Steps to Determining Your Pell Eligibility
- You must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the applicable academic year.
- Review your Student Aid Report (SAR)—After the FAFSA has been processed you will receive your SAR, which is a record of your FAFSA. The SAR includes an estimate of how much federal aid you may be eligible for based on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number.
- Determine how many credits you expect to enroll in. The amount of Pell for which you are is based on the number of credits you take and the EFC that appears on your SAR.
- Use the SAR and the Federal Pell Grant Award Chart to help determine how much Pell you may be eligible to receive.
- Check your Financial Aid Status, 24/7, on CUNYfirst. Refer to the CUNYfirst Financial Aid Self-Service Guide for detailed instructions on how to use CUNYfirst to check your financial aid status.
Need help filing the FAFSA? Attend a Financial Aid Application Workshop.
Year-Round Pell (Aid for Fall, Spring, and Summer)
The Federal Pell grant is available for full- or part-time fall, full- or part-time spring, and full- or part-time summer financial assistance (up to 150 percent of the Pell grant per year). There are special requirements to use Pell after two full-time semesters have been used. For more information on eligibility requirements for year-round Pell, refer to our Year-Round Pell FAQ.
Winter Session and Financial Aid
Winter session is an add-on to the spring and, as such, will have no additional financial aid attached to it. However, if you are going to be part time and are Pell-eligible for the spring, the chart below presents a few scenarios that may be to your advantage. Keep in mind that you are entitled to only one full-time Pell award per semester and that winter intersession incurs an additional tuition charge. Your spring Pell award will be valued at your "Combined Enrollment." However, due to winter and spring being billed separately, you will incur additional charges and may have to cover these additional expenses out of pocket or through other financial/financial aid sources.
Read our Financial Aid Eligibility for Winter Intersession FAQ to learn more about winter intersession costs and financial aid eligibility.
IMPORTANT: Any winter session course in which you receive a W grade of any kind will not be counted toward your spring financial aid eligibility.
Definitions
Less than Half-Time—registered between .01 and 5.9 credits total
Half-Time—registered between 6 and 8.9 credits total
Three-Quarter Time—registered between 9 and 11.9 credits total
Full-Time—registered for 12 or more credits total
| Winter Enrollment | Spring Enrollment | Combined Spring Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Less than Half-Time | Not Enrolled | Less than Half-Time |
| Less than Half-Time (under three credits) | Less than Half-Time (under three credits) | Less than Half-Time |
| Less than Half-Time (at least three credits) | Less than Half-Time (at least three credits) | Half-Time |
| Less than Half-Time | Half-Time | Three-Quarter Time |
| Less than Half-Time | Three-Quarter Time | Full-Time |
| Less than Half-Time | Full-Time | Full-Time |
| Half-Time | Not Enrolled | Half-Time |
| Half-Time | Less than Half-Time | Three-Quarter Time |
| Half-Time | Half-Time | Full-Time |
| Half-Time | Three-Quarter Time | Full-Time |
| Half-Time | Full-Time | Full-Time |
| Three-Quarter Time | Not Enrolled | Three-Quarter Time |
| Three-Quarter Time | Less than Half-Time | Full-Time |
| Three-Quarter Time | Half-Time | Full-Time |
| Three-Quarter Time | Three-Quarter Time | Full-Time |
| Three-Quarter Time | Full-Time | Full-Time |
| Full-Time | Not Enrolled | Full-Time |
| Full-Time | Less than Half-Time | Full-Time |
| Full-Time | Half-Time | Full-Time |
| Full-Time | Three-Quarter Time | Full-Time |
| Full-Time | Full-Time | Full-Time |
