A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid. Generally, Pell Grants are awarded only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or professional degree. (A professional degree is usually earned after earning a bachelor's degree in a field such as medicine, law, or dentistry.) In some cases, you might receive a Pell Grant for attending a post-baccalaureate teacher certificate program.
To determine if you're eligible financially, the U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula, established by Congress, to evaluate the information you report when you apply. The formula produces an EFC number. Your SAR contains this number. This number will determine if you are eligible for a Pell Grant and for how much.

When you apply for federal student aid, the information you report on the FAFSA is used to calculate your   Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The formula used to calculate your EFC is established by law and is used to measure your family's financial strength on the basis of your family's income and assets. The EFC is used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid.
If your EFC is below a certain amount, you'll be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements. There isn't a maximum EFC that defines eligibility for the other financial aid programs. Instead, your EFC is used in the following equation to determine your financial need:
Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need

Your financial aid administrator calculates your cost of attendance and subtracts the EFC. If there's anything left over, you're considered to have financial need. In attempting to meet your need for aid from SFA programs, your financial aid administrator must first consider other aid you're expected to receive.
NOTE: The financial aid administrator puts together a financial aid package that comes as close as possible to meeting your need. However, because funds are limited, the amount awarded to you might fall short of the amount for which you are eligible.

Your financial aid administrator can adjust data used to calculate your EFC or adjust your cost of attendance if he or she believes your family's financial circumstances warrant it based on the documentation you provide. However, the financial aid administrator does not have to make such an adjustment.
The grants may be used at almost any school the student chooses to attend. Financial aid administrators at each school can tell you whether the institution and its programs are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant Program.

If you are an undergraduate and otherwise eligible you can receive a Federal Pell Grant for less than half-time enrollment. You won't receive as much as if you were enrolled full time since your school must disburse your Pell Grant funds in accordance with your enrollment status. Postbaccalaureate students enrolled in teacher credential programs must be enrolled at least half time to receive a Federal Pell Grant.
To receive aid from any federal student aid program discussed in this guide, you must meet the following criteria: 
• Demonstrate financial need, except for some loan programs. 

•  Demonstrate by one of the following means that you are qualified to enroll in postsecondary education: have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate, pass an approved ability-to-benefit (ATB) test, meet other standards your state establishes that we have approved, complete a high school education in a home school setting approved under state law.

• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program. (You may not receive aid for correspondence or telecommunications courses unless they are part of an associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree program. A program of organized instruction or study that leads to an academic, professional, or vocational degree or certificate, or other recognized educational credential. To receive federal student aid, you must be enrolled in an eligible program, with two exceptions: 1. If a school has told you that you must take certain course work to qualify for admission into one of its eligible programs, you can get a Stafford Loan for up to 12 consecutive months while you’re completing that preparatory course work. You must be enrolled at least half time, and you must meet the usual student aid eligibility requirements. 2. If you’re enrolled at least half time in a program to obtain a professional credential or certification required by a state for employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher, you can get a Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, a Stafford Loan, or your parents can get a PLUS Loan, while you’re enrolled in that program.) 

•  Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen. (“Refugee”, “Asylum Granted”, “Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending”, “Conditional Entrant” (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980) If you have only a Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence (I-171 or I-464), you aren’t eligible for federal student aid.) 
  
•  Have a valid Social Security Number (unless you’re from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau). If you need a Social Security Number, you can find out more about applying for one at www.ssa.gov or call 1-800-772-1213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778•  Meet satisfactory academic progress standards set by the postsecondary school you are or will be attending. 

•  Certify that you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes and certify that you are not in default on a federal student loan and do not owe money on a federal student grant (which could happen if you withdraw from school, for example). 

•  To receive federal student aid, if you are a male born on or after January 1, 1960, are at least 18 years old, and are not currently on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, you must register, or arrange to register, with the Selective Service. (Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau are exempt from registering.) 

•  Comply with Selective Service registration, if required. If you’re a male aged 18 through 25, and you haven’t yet registered, you can give the Selective Service permission to register you by checking a box on the FAFSA. You can also register through the Internet at www.sss.gov call 1-847-688-6888. TTY users can call 1-847-688-2567.