Why Advocates Want a $200 Increase to the Pell Grant

Pell Grant funding has faced a multibillion-dollar budget deficit while the maximum award has remained flat for three years. The National College Attainment Network estimates that if Pell had kept pace with inflation, the maximum grant would be $8,109 instead of $7,395, a gap of $714. In the 1970s, Pell covered about 80% of the cost of attendance, but it now covers about 29%. Advocates say low-income students struggle to cover non-tuition costs such as housing, food, books, and technology, even when tuition and fees have plateaued or fallen. They request a $200 increase in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget to maintain Pell’s purchasing power.

"For a lot of students right now, tuition and fees is less than half of the total cost of attendance. It's the cost of housing, food, books and technology that's fueling the increases. Unless we want to see fewer students going to college and completing college, we have to maintain Pell's purchasing power."

"According to an estimate from the National College Attainment Network, if Pell had kept pace with inflation, the maximum grant would be $8,109, or $714 more than the current maximum of $7,395. At the peak of its purchasing power in the 1970s, the Pell Grant covered 80 percent of cost of attendance; nowadays, it covers about 29 percent."

"But NCAN and other groups aren't asking Congress to make up for the full inflation adjustment. Instead they're requesting just a $200 increase in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which Congress must pass by Sept. 30. [Two hundred dollars] isn't sufficient to restore the purchasing power of Pell, but it would be a down payment on what's needed to keep college in reach for low-income students."

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