WASHINGTON — Pell grants are free college assistance from the Department of Education and funded by Congress, but more than one million high school seniors never even apply for them.
Last year alone, that meant $2.7 billion in federal grant money went unclaimed, according to analysis from NerdWallet.
Nearly 1.5 million high school graduates didn’t fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms, known as FAFSA. The average amount of money left on the table per eligible high school graduate who didn’t apply was $1,861. In Washington, D.C., the average Pell grant that went unclaimed was worth $2,513.
Nerdwallet says there are three main reasons college-bound students don’t apply.
“They hear the words ‘need-based’ and they think there is going to be some hard and fast income requirements that determine whether or not they will be qualified,” says NerdWallet’s Nonso Maduka. “But that’s not necessarily the case. There are a number of other factors that go into the qualification.”
Generally, the grants are intended for families making no more than $50,000, but other factors include citizenship status, what school the student is applying to and what degree they are seeking.
Other reasons for Pell grant money going unclaimed include applications that are rejected for mistakes, and applications that are started, but not finished and submitted.
“It takes about 20 or 30 minutes to finish the FAFSA, but it does require some outside information, like family information and tax returns,” Maduka says. “So for families who don’t completely understand what they need, they might start the process but feel it’s too much to finish.”
The size of Pell grants changes yearly, or once every several years. It is need-based federal aid and the budget is determined by Congress. The most recent data from the Department of Education shows the average size of a Pell grant is just under $3,500 a year.
NerdWallet has a free online FAFSA Guide for students and parents here.
