It never really crossed my mind that I would apply for Pell grant.I do need a scholarship for my college education but I never really thought I would be qualified for it.I know fairly well that the process is very rigid and would cause a lot of trouble.But as time drew nearer and the need went stronger I pushed myself to try applying.

I checked on various scholarships being offered but one of the most tempting ones was that of the Federal government.The grant is a financial aid for those citizens who cannot afford to pursue a college education.The amount of assistance is really enough to breeze your way through college.However, the application process is quite rigid so I did have second thoughts.

A friend of mine was also applying and tried to convince me that it’s worth the try and that we’re going to do it together.So I decided to apply for Pell grant.

I did my application online.I downloaded and filled out the FAFSA form.After giving all the required information I mailed the form to the FAFSA address.The submission can also be done over the web but I still preferred the mailing option.

The eligibility to apply for Pell grant was not much of a problem for me.We had a low family income and it would surely make me qualified for the grant.Neither was I worried of citizenship since I was born and raised in the US.

After sending out the form I simply waited for the SAR or the Student Aid Report as to whether or not I was actually qualified for the grant.Soon enough I received feedback informing me that I’m qualified.I came to realize that it was not so hard to apply for Pell grant and it was all worth it.I’m currently receiving the financial aid and soon enough I will be graduating with the help of the Pell grant.

I can say from experience that the Federal Pell Grant is helpful. Although there is no denying that the sum of money I received from such grant is not enough to pay the entirety of my schooling expenditures, I am truly appreciative of the fact that it was able to ease out my financial burden especially so because I come from a low-income household.

At the same time, being a recipient of the Pell Grant made be eligible for other student financial aid package as well, meaning I was able to add to it other federal and non-federal scholarships thereby allowing me to save on cost even more. Another neat aspect of this federal student aid program is that they do not require repayment in cash; instead it requires its beneficiaries to maintain satisfactory progress in academics and stay out of legal trouble to remain in the program.

The Federal Pell Grant is intended for students who come from low-income households such as myself and those who are living independently with meager earnings. Also, the grant is only made available to United States citizens or those considered as eligible non-citizens. In addition, applicants should be a high school graduate or holder of a GED certificate and have not earned a bachelor’s or professional degree yet.

The first step in applying for the Pell Grant is by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form on or after July 1 of each year. Nowadays, students already have the option of completing the said form via the Internet and that was exactly what I did. I recommend the latter, aside from being convenient, application turnaround is much faster. The form can be found on www.fafsa.ed.gov, and it can be filled out on the website itself. Filling out the form was relatively easy since the instructions were fairly self-explanatory. The FAFSA consists of multiple questions, at least 130 if I remember correctly, and these were about my assets and that of my family, income, as well as dependency. From what I understand, these factors are evaluated by the Department of Education and entered into a formula which determines Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The result of which decides how much I can get to use for one reward year.

My request for federal student aid was evaluated and in five days time I got my Student Aid Report (SAR) and request approval notice through email. The school then provided me a written document which detailed how much I got from the Pell Grant program, as well as the process and schedule of disbursement.  

With the current condition of the economy and the rising cost of living, fewer households nowadays could afford sending their kids to college. Earning a living seems nothing more than earning for subsistence level.

More and more students look for options such as federal grants, scholarships and loans to get through college. At the top of most household’s lists are Pell Grants. Compared to student loans, Pell Grants are financial assistance grants that need not be paid off. Students that qualify for this grant receive assistance that is as good as cash. But remember, nothing comes easy and you need to satisfy certain requirements to become eligible for Pell Grants.

There are Pell Grant requirements that a student needs to satisfy in order to get the much needed assistance. Certain documentation need to be submitted as well as qualifying financial status.

As for Pell Grant reqquirements, a student who has a higher financial need is more likely to be awarded. Financial need is             the difference between the Cost of Attendance and Expected Family Contribution. CoA is the expected cost of education while EFC is a family’s capacity to pay.

Not everyone can apply for a Pell Grant. The first requirement is an applicant needs to belong to a low-income family. This factor is reflected in the Pell Grant equation as EFC or expected family contribution. With low EFC, Financial Need increases because only a small factor is subtracted from the CoA. Its because of this that is why students with families that have low EFC are more likely to be granted. As of 2011, the threshold for EFC is $5,273.

Next to the list of Pell Grant requirements is the fulfillment of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. In this application form, you would have to declare your family’s income, your personal income, household size, and number of siblings going through college or professional studies.

Pell Grant requirements also state that you should not have finished a bachelor’s degree in the past. And finally, and quite obvious as well, being incarcerated in a federal institution is a big NO.

Although expensive, there is no question that college education is important, being that it can improve a person’s earning potential. Prior to graduating from high school I already did an intensive search for financial aid options which I can utilize to take away some of the financial burden of attending college. One of the scholarships I was able to get was worth $1,000, and I was able to qualify for it because I’m tall, 6’3 to be exact. Yes, you read it right. I got a thousand bucks to use for my studies because I am tall.

The Tall Clubs International (TCI) scholarship is among the widely known unusual scholarships for college students. To qualify, ladies should not be shorter than five feet ten inches, and for gents, six feet two inches. I downloaded the application form from the foundation’s official website and got in touch with a TCI member club to request for sponsorship. There are at least fifty TCI member clubs in North America, and about twenty percent of them are here in California.

I learned about unusual scholarships from a cousin who also was able to avail one while she was still a college sophomore. Her student aid package, also valued at $1,000, was granted on the basis of being left-handed. There are plenty of unusual scholarships these days and the Internet is the best place to find them. I simply typed unusual scholarships on the search bar of my web browser and checked out the websites on the results listing. I also came across websites that aggregated these wacky scholarships. To obtain these scholarships you have to pass their stringent eligibility requirements.

Every organization providing these scholarships has its own rules regarding the eligibility requirements and application process, and these are in most cases detailed on their official websites. Occasionally, you have to take part and win a competition to get these scholarships. For instance, there is one contest wherein applicants should wear a dress or suit constructed from duct tape during their prom night. Whoever has the best looking get-up will win five thousand bucks worth of college scholarship.

Although these scholarships have very specific eligibility requirements, it is possible to qualify in more than one of them. Even better is that they can be added to other grants and scholarships both from private and government sources to reduce the cost of attending college even more.