The Pell Grant amount will rise by $500 in 2023. How much will it help college students?

USA Today Education

Chris Quintana

January 2, 2023

Low-income college students could get an extra $500 this year to help them pay for the cost of their education.

Under the latest federal spending plan signed by President Joe Biden Thursday, the maximum value of the Pell Grant is set to rise to nearly $7,400 for the 2023 fiscal year, a $500 increase from the current max award of $6,895.

Higher education advocates praised the increase, saying it could help more low-income students start and complete college.

The $500 figure is on top of a $400 increase the prior year, making it the largest two-year increase in the program’s history, said Terry Hartle, a senior vice president of government relations and public affairs at the American Council on Education, a trade group of universities.

How many low-income students receive Pell Grants?

More than 6 million college students received the Pell Grant in the 2020-21 academic year, according to the Department of Education. Unlike student loans, students don’t have to pay the money back in all but the most extreme cases.

Biden has said he plans to increase the maximum Pell Grant to $13,000 by 2029, and Hartle other advocates had hoped that increase would happen sooner rather than later.

Still, the larger award this year will, “help an awful lot of people who are trying to decide whether to start or to continue a post-secondary education,” Hartle said.

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