Understanding the 150% Annual Pell Limit

A student can use up to 150% of their Pell grant each academic year. This is separate from Lifetime Eligibility Usage. The annual Pell limit can be a confusing concept so review below to understand how this works.

Fall/Spring Enrollment

If you attend a semester for at least 12 credits (full time status) and receive a Federal Pell Grant for the semester you would use 50% of your Pell allowance for the academic year.

Example 1 – Pell used for 2 Terms

So for example, Jane is enrolled for 12 credits in the Fall semester and 12 credits in the Spring 2025 semester. This would mean that Jane used 100% of their Pell allowance for the 2024/25 academic year.

A Note About Summer

The Summer semester is a “crossover” period. What this means is that summer can sometimes be associated with the aid year that is ending or with the aid year that is beginning. Therefore it is possible for a student to receive two summer Pell grants within a single aid year provided that have not exceeded the 150% Pell annual limit. The examples below illustrate this further.

Summer/Fall/Spring Enrollment

While the typical enrollment for a student is to attend the Fall and Spring semesters, let’s throw in Summer with a “Front End” Pell award so we can go further into what the 150% Pell allowance is. Summer “Front End” Pell can be used as the first Pell payment for the start of the academic year when a student is enrolled in the summer preceding the fall semester.

Example 2- Pell used over 3 Terms

Jane is enrolled for 7 credits in Summer, 12 credits in Fall , and 10 credits in Spring.

Jane used a total of 120.5% of their Pell allowance for the academic/aid year by utilizing “Front End” Pell in Summer and with their enrollment/Pell awards in Fall and Spring.

Summer/Fall/Spring/Summer Enrollment

You can also utilize remaining Pell eligibility for the Summer semester that normally starts the following academic year (follows the spring semester). This is referred to as “Back End” Pell, an example using that below:

Example 3- Pell used over 4 Terms

Jane has enrolled for 6 credits in Summer, 12 credits in Fall, 8 credits in Spring, and 9 credits in the following Summer.

Summer “Front End”	Fall	Spring	Summer “Back End”
6 Credits	12 Credits	8 Credits	9 Credits
25% -Pell used	50% -Pell used	33.5% -Pell used	37.5% -Pell used

This would mean that Jane utilized 146% of their Pell allowance in the 2024/25 academic year. By enrolling for Summer at the start of the academic year (“Front End”) and Summer at the end of the academic year (“Back End”) they were able to utilize both Front End Pell for the preceding Summer and Back End Pell for the following Summer.

Summer/Fall/Spring/Summer Enrollment – More than 150% Pell Enrollment

In all the scenarios above we have a student that was able to utilize their Pell allowance in an academic year. Now let’s discuss a situation where their enrollment would cause them to exceed the 150% annual Pell limit and its implications.

Example 4- Pell used over 4 Terms – Exceeding 150% Pell Enrollment Percentages

Jane is enrolled for 6 credits in the preceding Summer (“Front End”), 12 credits in Fall , 12 credits in Spring, and 9 credits in the following Summer (“Back End”).

Summer “Front End”	Fall	Spring	Summer “Back End”
6 Credits	12 Credits	8 Credits	*9 Credits
25% -Pell used	50% -Pell used	50% -Pell used	*25% -Pell remaining

In this scenario Jane has a total of 162.5% in the academic/aid year. What this means is that Jane would still get a Back End Pell award in Summer following the spring term but it would be based on only the remaining 25% of eligibility that Jane has i.e. 6 credits because they cannot exceed 150% in an academic/aid year.

Recommended Practices for Students Attending Summer

In all cases we recommend that students file the FAFSA for the next academic year because depending on the eligibility you may be eligible to receive a higher amount of Pell for Summer using “Front End” instead of the remaining “Back End” eligibility.