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Protect Pell

Protecting the Pell Grant for College Affordability

The Pell Grant has served as the cornerstone of financial aid for students from low-income backgrounds pursuing higher education since its creation in 1972. This need-based grant provides crucial support for around 7 million students each year, or about one-third of undergraduates. Since it was created 50 years ago, the Pell Grant has helped 80 million low-income students go to college.

Unfortunately, the purchasing power of the Pell Grant has continuously declined since the mid-1970s. At its peak in 1975-76, the maximum Pell award was worth more than three-fourths of the average cost of attendance – tuition, fees, and living expenses – for a four-year public university. Today, it's worth roughly one-third. 

President Biden called for doubling the Pell Grant by 2029, and Congress has attempted to keep the Pell Grant on pace with inflation by including increases during appropriations cycles. In 2022 and 2023, the maximum Pell Grant saw the largest boosts in the past decade of $400 and $500, respectively. Still, bolder investment in the program is needed to curtail the rising affordability crisis. The maximum Pell Grant has not increased since 2023. 

NCAN’s “Growing Gap” research found that only 33% of public, four-year institutions and fewer than half of public, two-year institutions are affordable to the average Pell Grant recipient.

Investing in the program and increasing the maximum Pell Grant award will address the equity gaps currently present in higher education by targeting the college affordability crisis, experienced by all students from low-income backgrounds and disproportionately by students of color. For this reason, NCAN has joined nearly 1,200 organizations and institutions calling on Congress to protect Pell.

Why is Pell a Good Investment?

Pell Grants are:

  • Targeted: The majority of the approximately 7 million annual Pell Grant recipients have family incomes of under $40,000.
  • Immediate: The Pell Grant program is well established, with eligibility determined through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and administered through a student’s institution. An investment in this program is the fastest way to increase support to the largest number of students.
  • Widespread: The Pell Grant is available for a student to use at any Title IV eligible institution in any state.

Why is Now the Right Time to Invest in Pell?

  • College enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels: College enrollment grew by 3% in the spring of 2025, but college enrollment is still lower than before the pandemic. Students at community colleges, those attending public universities, and women have been most acutely impacted. 
  • College remains unaffordable: The number of public postsecondary options that are in reach for the average Pell Grant recipient is falling, and affordability gaps persist – with few exceptions. 

How Should Congress Invest in the Pell Grant?

  • Index the Pell Grant to the rate of inflation: Once the maximum Pell Grant has been increased, Congress should reinstate the provision that indexed the program to the rate of inflation. Doing so would guarantee a baseline annual increase and, in turn, sustain Pell’s purchasing power.
  • Create a federal-state partnership: Congress should invest in a federal-state partnership that incentivizes states to invest in need-based aid, and stabilize or reduce the cost of college. Such actions at the state level would help control the cost of college and provide additional support to close the financial aid gap for students from low-income backgrounds.
  • Keep Pell dollars in the Pell program: Dollars accumulated in the Pell Grant reserve (from unobligated funds in years when Congress appropriated more than students needed) are intended for students from low-income backgrounds and should be used to help those students afford a higher education. They should not be removed to support other portions of the federal budget.

 


What Would the Increase Mean for Students?

  • Investing in the Pell Grant would help close college affordability gaps across the country: Holding all other factors constant, if the Pell Grant maximum increased by $500, and was used in the NCAN affordability definition, the affordability gap would close in most states for community colleges, and shrink for public bachelor’s degree institutions.