Today prices for education increases rather fast and a lot of parents can’t send their children to study at college or university because lack of money. But it is not a reason for despair, because there is Pell Grant.
Pell Grant is an educational federal grant program for people with low incomes and it is not necessary to repay this grant. This grant program was organized in 1960-ies and it was named after U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell. In general this grant can be given only to poor people in order to give them opportunity to get higher education.
The amount of money which can be received according to this grant depends upon the incomes of the family, the cost of the education and the fact you are full-time student or part-time student. In the 2006-2007 the amount of grant was $4,050. In the 2007-2008 it is $4,310. It is expected that in 2012 the amount of grant will reach $5,400.
In order to get this grant, first of all you should fill the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). You can do it through the Internet on the website fafsa.ed.gov. But before filling the FAFSA form, you should do the following things: to get your PIN (Personal Identification Number), it is possible to do on the site pin.ed.gov; to prepare certain documents like Social Security card, driver’s license, W-2 form and Federal Income Tax Return from the previous year, untaxed income records from previous year, current bank statement, current information about business and investments. After filling the FAFSA, you will receive the Student Aid Report where you’ll see if you can get Pell Grant or not.