The Pell Grant is a kind of financial aid that is always changing, and for the 2010-11 school year there have been a number of changes that have been implemented to benefit students. There has never been a better time to apply for a Pell Grant, and with these new changes you should be able to receive more aid than ever before from the Pell Grant.
The major changes for the 2010-11 school year have to do with the increase of the maximum Pell Grant amount, and the overall amounts that are available to students from across the country. The maximum Pell Grant amount for the 2009-10 school year was set at 5,350 dollars, and for the 2010-11 school year the amount has been increased to 5,500 dollars per year, an increase of 150 dollars per year. It is rare to receive the full Pell Grant amount, and on average most students receive about half of the set maximum for that school year.
That being said, the new changes have also increased the amount of funding that is available to students that don’t qualify to receive the full amount, so even if you are only able to receive about half the maximum, that total should still be above what you were potentially able to receive during the year before. Other changes that have been made for the 2010-11 school year include an expansion of the actual semesters that are eligible to receive Pell Grant aid, and a cancellation of the minimum amount of enrollment hours needed to become eligible for the Pell Grant.
This means that you can receive aid no matter what time of year you are attending school, fall, winter, spring, and summer. You also should now be able to receive aid regardless of your enrollment status, and you therefore will be able to get Pell Grant funding whether you are enrolled on a full-time, three-quarter time, half-time, or less-than-halftime basis. Hopefully by taking into consideration these changes you will be able to utilize the Pell Grant to your advantage even more for the 2010-11 school year, and remember that you need to apply for a Pell Grant via a FAFSA by the appropriate deadlines.
