The U.S. House of Representatives
voted to increase the size of the maximum Pell Grant by $260, to $4,310. This
is the first time the size of the Pell Grant has been increased since 2002. The
Pell Grant is the federal government’s premier need-based grant aid program,
providing aid to more than five million low-income
students.
Over the last five years, while
students have paid more for college, the maximum Pell Grant has remained frozen.
As a result students have had to make up the gap between tuition and aid with
more work and larger loans. This increase will start to provide students with
the aid they need to access an affordable college education. To fully restore
the Pell Grant to its historic value, we’re continuing to call for the maximum
to be increased to $5,100 in the coming budget cycle.
