By now, the news of the Pell grant funds dwindling to extinction has probably spread to every school district, every home and every student.
The Pell grant system has typically been the most significant financial aid program for college students.
However, many experts feared that the entire Pell grant system would collapse for the 2011-2012 school year because of a $5.7 billion gap in financing, according to previous reports in December, 2010.
But, it won’t collapse. The Pell grant system will continue to fund students through the 2011-2012 school year and most likely beyond, according to an article in the Washington Post.
The U.S. Department of Education sent out a letter, indicating that it fully intends to fund Pell grants all the way up to the maximum award of $5,500. This award is typically intended for low-income students.
However, this letter only confirms that the maximum Pell grant award will still be funded. However, it does not indicate the total amount of Pell grant funding that will be available for the 2011-2012 school year, which could very well be at a record low.
Many students could still become victims of a lack of Pell grant funding and not receive any funding for the 2011-2012 school year, funding that they likely would have received in previous years.
This letter only indicates that the government will give out one award of $5,500. However, many schools and students still celebrated this news, believing that there will still be significant Pell grant funding.
As indicated by this letter, the government will carry through on its legislation passed last year that added $36 billion to the Pell grant system, which represented the largest amount of financial aid to low-income students. This initiative also stated that the largest Pell grant award would rise to $5,975 by 2017.
