Enrollment Status for Financial Assistance

Enrollment Intensity

For the 2024-2025 academic year, the enrollment statuses used to previously award the Pell Grant will be replaced with a new term called " Enrollment Intensity."  Previously, Pell Grants were awarded based on full-time (12 or more credit hours), three-quarter-time (9-11 credit hours), half-time (6-8 credit hours) or less-than-half-time (1-5 credit hours) enrollment statuses. 

Enrollment intensity is the percentage of full-time enrollment at which a student is enrolled, rounded to the nearest whole percent.

Example:
Full-time enrollment is 12 or more credit hours, and the student is enrolled in 7 credit hours. The enrollment intensity would be (7/12) x 100% = 58%. The student’s scheduled Pell Grant award is then multiplied by the student’s enrollment intensity percentage to determine the Annual Pell Grant Award.

New Way to Determine Pell Eligibility

The Scheduled Pell Award is the calculated award amount a student can receive during an academic year if they attend 12 hours. Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, this award is calculated in three ways.

  1. Maximum Pell Grant - Automatically calculated when a student has a Student Aid Index (SAI) between –1500 and 0.
  2. Student Aid Index (SAI) Calculation - Used for students who don’t automatically qualify for a Maximum Pell Grant but have a calculated SAI that is less than the Maximum Pell Grant award for the award year. Calculation: The Maximum Pell Grant for the award year minus (-) the student's SAI = the student’s Scheduled Pell award.
  3. Minimum Pell Grant - Students whose calculated SAI is greater than the Maximum Pell Grant award for the award year may still be eligible for a Pell Grant based on family size, adjusted gross income, and poverty guidelines.

Your Scheduled Pell Award will be paid out each semester based on the number of credits you are enrolled in:

  • Those enrolled 12 hours or more will receive their full Scheduled Pell Award
  • Those enrolled less than 12 hours will multiply their Scheduled Pell Award by the percentages shown below to get the total prorated Pell Grant award that will pay out for the semester. This percentage determination is known as Enrollment Intensity.

Can I get an estimate of my Scheduled Pell Award and SAI?

Yes, students and counselors may utilize the Federal Student Aid Estimator to find out how much federal student aid a student may be eligible for starting with the 2024–2025 award year based on an estimated Student Aid Index (SAI).

What is the Maximum Pell Grant award for the 2024-2025 aid year?

The Maximum Pell Grant award for the 2024-2025 aid year is unchanged at $7,395. 

What about Year- Round Pell?

Previously, a Pell Grant-eligible student must have been enrolled at least half-time in a payment period during which they received more than 100% of their scheduled award. Beginning with the 2024-2025 award year, half-time enrollment is no longer required.