Federal Pell Grant

The Federal Pell Grant is an award offered to undergraduates with no prior bachelor's or advanced degree and who have an expected family contribution (EFC) of less than a certain amount, determined annually by the U.S. Congress. This grant is pro-rated according to your expected family contribution and hours of enrollment. For example, if you enroll less than full-time or if your expected family contribution increases, your award will decrease.

Note: neither hours taken for audit nor courses taken through UW Flexible Enrollment (Correspondence Study) are counted towards minimum credit requirements to receive Pell. Adjustments to reflect changes in enrollment will only be made through the end of the Drop/Add period. Enrollment changes after that date will not result in a change to the Pell Grant Award amount.

Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU)

The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by a new federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%. Find out more at studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell.

Withdrawal from Classes

Any Pell eligible student who withdraws from one or more classes and who changes their enrollment status (full-time to part-time, part-time to half-time, etc.) is subject to a reduction in their Pell grant if they did not begin enrollment in the class(es). Instructors will be contacted to validate that the student began enrollment.