Federal Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility

The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the amount of a scheduled Pell Grant award you can receive each award year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.

How Do I Know if This Affects Me?

  • If you have attended college (or another post-secondary institution) for 4 years or longer and received the Federal Pell Grant each semester of full-time attendance, you are likely to exhaust or have already exhausted your lifetime limit of 12 semesters of Federal Pell Grant eligibility.

  • If you have attended college for 3 years or less and received the Federal Pell Grant each semester of attendance, you will likely not surpass the lifetime limit.

If your LEU equals or exceeds 600%, you may no longer receive Pell Grant funding. Similarly, if your LEU is greater than 500% but less than 600%, while you will be eligible for a Pell Grant for the next award year, you will not be able to receive a full scheduled award.  Whether you have used all of your Federal Pell Grant eligibility or only half, please be conscious about the lifetime limit of the Federal Pell Grant when changing majors and/or scheduling classes.

How is the Percentage Used Calculated?

The percentages are based off of the annual award at full-time enrollment status. For example:

  • A student attending in the academic year 2019-2020 at full time status and receiving his maximum annual award, the percentage used for the year 2019-2020 is 100%.

  • If the student attends only ¾ time for each semester, the percentage used is 75%.

  • If the student attends only ½ time for each semester, the percentage used is 50%.

  • If the student attends less than half time for each semester, the percentage used is 25%.

How Can I See My Lifetime Eligibility Used (Leu) Percentage?

You can log in to “My Federal Student Aid” using your FSA ID to view your LEU.

For additional information on Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility, you may contact Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).