Eligibility

• Pell Grants focus less on whether student can receive funding and more on how much they receive. In most cases, students, whether they are convicted felons or they have perfect records, receive Pell Grants based on their financial needs. The Pell program is intended to help students who would have the most difficulty paying for a higher education. The federal government assesses the need through information on students' Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. Students' net incomes and how much their families can contribute are a couple of the factors that affect amounts.
  
  

Exclusion

• There is one exception in which convicted felons are denied eligibility for Pell Grants. The Department of Education will not give Pell funding, nor any other type of financial aid, to anyone with a conviction for a sexual offense. Sex crime charges can be violent or non-violent in order for this rule to apply. For prospective students who have sexual offense convictions, or are disqualified for federal aid under any other circumstances, the Department of Education recommends they still complete their FAFSA because they could be eligible for assistance from state agencies or private institutions.
  
  

Funding Loss

• There is also a situation in which Pell Grant recipients can lose their funding due to a felony conviction. The Department of Education strips Pell awards and any other college financial aid from people who are convicted of selling or possessing drugs. The Higher Education Act of 1965 sets the regulation. Prospective students who are applying for financial aid need to indicate on their FAFSA forms if they have drug convictions. Students who lose their funding under these circumstances can regain it by passing two unannounced drug tests conducted by a drug rehabilitation program.
  
  

About Pell

• Pell Grants are one of the federal government's largest forms of financial aid for college students. Almost $32.3 billion in the grants were available to students in 2010. The maximum award that year was $5,550, and the average was $3,865. Members of U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama made the program a point of contention in 2011 as some legislators fought to cut the program by billions of dollars. The Department of Education estimated that more than 8 million students in 2010 would begin receiving Pell Grants.