[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-588004-105":3,"doc-detail-588004-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":99},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","pell-grants-overall-student-eligibility-increased-after-free-application-for-federal-student-aid-simplification-april-14-2026","Pell Grants: Overall Student Eligibility Increased After Free Application for Federal Student Aid Simplification - April 14, 2026","","Pell Grants is the federal need-based grant program supporting students’ access to higher education, administered by the Department of Education. Drawing on Education data, the report evaluates how Pell eligibility changed after FAFSA simplification for aid applications effective in SY 2024–25. Overall Pell eligibility and eligibility for the maximum Pell increased, with larger gains across several income ranges, households with other students in college, and vulnerable populations, compared with SY 2023–24.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/pell-grants-overall-student-eligibility-increased-after-free-application-for-federal-student-aid-simplification-april-14-2026/588004/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/pell-grants-overall-student-eligibility-increased-after-free-application-for-federal-student-aid-simplification-april-14-2026/588004.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Bintang","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-07","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What change does the report study regarding Pell eligibility?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The report examines how student eligibility for Pell Grants changed after FAFSA simplification, which took effect for aid applications submitted for SY 2024–25.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How did overall Pell eligibility change after FAFSA simplification?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Among students who completed the FAFSA, overall Pell eligibility increased after FAFSA simplification, and eligibility for the maximum Pell award also rose in SY 2024–25 compared with SY 2023–24.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Which student groups saw particularly high Pell eligibility after simplification?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Students in certain vulnerable populations (such as those who were homeless or in foster care) had high Pell eligibility rates in SY 2024–25, according to Education data, and additional increases were seen for households with other family members in college.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},588004,1792160960,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":92,"language":93,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":94,"faqs":95,"seo_title":96,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":97,"read_time":98,"preview_page_count":4},962085564381,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8",8,"U.S. Government Accountability Office  \nPell Grants: Overall Student Eligibility Increased After Free Application for Federal Student Aid Simplification  \nGAO-26-107928  \nQ&A Report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Education and Workforce, House of Representatives April 14, 2026  \nWhy This Matters  \nThe federal Pell Grant program is the largest source of federal grant aid supporting students’ access to higher education. The program was first authorized in 1972 and is administered by the Department of Education. About 7 million undergraduate students received a total of nearly $40 billion in Pell Grant awards in school year (SY) 2024–25.  \nPell Grants are a type of need-based aid that help primarily undergraduate students from lower-income families pay for college expenses, including tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, and transportation. Eligibility for Pell Grants is determined when students complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the federal government’s gateway to accessing federal grants, work-study, and loans.  \nCongress passed the FUTURE Act in 2019 and the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020 to make it easier for students to apply for federal aid, and subsequent changes shortened the FAFSA. In this report, we refer to these changes as“FAFSA simplification.” The changes went into effect for aid applications submitted for SY 2024–25. We were asked to examine how student eligibility for Pell Grants changed after FAFSA simplification. This report provides information on changes in Pell Grant eligibility overall and by a variety of student or family characteristics after FAFSA simplification.  \nKey Takeaways  \n• Our analysis of Education data found overall student eligibility for Pell Grants among those who completed the FAFSA (Pell eligibility) increased after FAFSA simplification. Eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant award (maximum Pell) also increased. In SY 2024–25, 6 percent more students (about 570,000 students) were eligible for Pell Grants , and 31 percent more students (about 1.9 million students) were eligible for the maximum Pell than in SY 2023–24.  \n• Much of the overall increase in Pell eligibility after FAFSA simplification was among students in the household income ranges between $60,001 and $125,000 . In addition, our analysis suggests that the number of students in the household income ranges between $40,001 and $80,000 who were eligible for the maximum Pell more than doubled in SY 2024–25 compared with SY 2023–24.  \n• The number of students who reported no assets (including those who were not required to report assets) increased by about 2.4 million in SY 2024–25 compared with SY 2023–24. Ninety-one percent of these students were Pell eligible in SY 2024–25, and 85 percent of those were eligible for the maximum Pell (compared with 88 and 75 percent, respectively, in SY 2023– 24) .  \n• Eligibility for a Pell Grant and the maximum Pell increased for students with at least one other family member in college. Specifically, 60 percent of these students were eligible for Pell Grants in SY 2024–25, compared with 55 percent in SY 2023–24. Of those students, 77 percent were eligible for the maximum Pell award in SY 2024–25, compared with 48 percent in SY 2023– 24.  \n• More than 90 percent of students in certain vulnerable populations, such as those who were homeless or were in foster care, were eligible for a Pell Grant in SY 2024–25, according to Education data.  \nHow is student eligibility for Pell Grants determined?  \nPell eligibility is determined when students complete and submit the FAFSA. The FAFSA uses financial and other information that students and parents report on the application to calculate the amount of federal aid for which a student is eligible. For the purpose of this report, we refer to all applicants who complete a FAFSA as “students.”  \nThe Pell Grant amount for which a student is eligible can vary according to several factors. These include hous","cbCaimsf6YJJkUlN","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimsf6YJJkUlN","pdf",737400,18,"English","# Why This Matters\n# How is student eligibility for Pell Grants determined?\n# How did the FAFSA change for the 2024–2025 school year?\n# Key Takeaways","[{\"question\":\"What change does the report study regarding Pell eligibility?\",\"answer\":\"The report examines how student eligibility for Pell Grants changed after FAFSA simplification, which took effect for aid applications submitted for SY 2024–25.\"},{\"question\":\"How did overall Pell eligibility change after FAFSA simplification?\",\"answer\":\"Among students who completed the FAFSA, overall Pell eligibility increased after FAFSA simplification, and eligibility for the maximum Pell award also rose in SY 2024–25 compared with SY 2023–24.\"},{\"question\":\"Which student groups saw particularly high Pell eligibility after simplification?\",\"answer\":\"Students in certain vulnerable populations (such as those who were homeless or in foster care) had high Pell eligibility rates in SY 2024–25, according to Education data, and additional increases were seen for households with other family members in college.\"}]","Pell Grants: Overall Student Eligibility Increased After Free Application for Federal Student Aid Simplification - April 14, 2026 | PDF",1792064021,45,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":100},[101,105,109,113,118,123,128,131,136,139,142],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":129,"slug":130},30,"research-report",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":134,"slug":135},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":134,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":134,"slug":138},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":140,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":141},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":143,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":144,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":145},19,"General","general"]