Pell	Grant	Lifetime	Eligibility	Used
Before	awarding	a	Pell	Grant,	you	must	check	the	COD	common	record	or	COD	website	to	make	sure	students	close	to	the
600%	Pell	Grant	lifetime	limit	are	not	packaged	in	such	a	way	as	to	exceed	600%	of	the	LEU;	to	do	so	would	be	to
overaward	the	student.	The	Department	will	also	provide	weekly	reports	in	the	SAIG	mailbox	(message	class	PGLEXXOP,
where	XX=year)	for	your	school9s	Pell-eligible	students	that	have	a	Pell	LEU	greater	than	or	equal	to	450%.	See	
Volume	7,
Chapter	8	for	more	detail	on	the	effects	of	various	levels	of	Pell	Grant	LEU.
Considering	Grants	and	Subsidized	Loans	First
The	law	requires	aid	administrators	to	determine	whether	a	student	is	eligible	for	aid	from	certain	other	Title	IV	programs
that	would	reduce	the	need	for	borrowing.	If	your	school	participates	in	the	Federal	Pell	Grant	Program,	you	must	include
the	student9s	estimated	Pell	Grant	eligibility	as	OFA	when	making	Campus-Based	awards,	whether	or	not	the	student	has
received	the	Pell	Grant	at	the	time	you	make	your	Campus-Based	award.
Similarly,	you	must	determine	an	undergraduate	student9s	Pell	Grant	eligibility	before	originating	a	Direct	Subsidized	or
Unsubsidized	Loan	for	that	student,	and	you	must	package	Campus-Based	funds	and	Direct	Subsidized	Loans	before
Direct	Unsubsidized	Loans.	In	addition,	you	must	determine	an	undergraduate	student9s	maximum	Direct	Subsidized	Loan
eligibility	before	originating	a	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loan	for	the	student	(see	Volume	8,	Chapter	1	for	an	explanation	of	the
difference	between	Direct	Subsidized	Loans	and	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loans).	However,	if	a	student	has	received	a
determination	of	need	for	a	Direct	Subsidized	Loan	that	is	$200	or	less,	you	have	the	option	of	including	that	amount	as
part	of	a	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loan	and	are	not	required	to	originate	a	separate	Direct	Subsidized	Loan	for	the	student.
For	a	dependent	student,	you	may	originate	and	disburse	a	parent	Direct	PLUS	Loan	without	determining	the	student9s
Pell	Grant	and	Direct	Subsidized	Loan	eligibility.	However,	if	the	student	on	whose	behalf	the	parent	is	borrowing	receives
Pell	Grant	funds	and/or	other	types	of	aid	for	the	same	period	of	enrollment,	that	other	aid	must	be	considered	when
determining	the	Direct	PLUS	Loan	amount	that	the	parent	is	eligible	to	borrow.	The	amount	of	a	parent	Direct	PLUS	Loan
cannot	exceed	the	student9s	COA	minus	other	financial	assistance	that	the	student	has	received.
Determining	Pell	Grant	eligibility	is	not	relevant	when	awarding	Direct	PLUS	Loans	to	graduate	or	professional	students,
but	you	must	determine	a	graduate	or	professional	student9s	maximum	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loan	eligibility	before	you
originate	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	for	the	student.
Requirement	to	Consider	Federal	Pell	Grants	First
34	CFR	685.200(a)(1)(iii)
Volume	3,	Chapter	3,	Example	1:	Basic	Packaging
A	dependent	second-year	undergraduate	student	has	a	COA	of	$12,500	and	an	SAI	of	2,500	for	the	current	year.
The	SAI	is	subtracted	from	the	COA,	leaving	the	student	with	$10,000	in	unmet	need:
$12,500	COA
-	2,500	SAI
$10,000	need
The	aid	administrator	begins	by	awarding	a	Pell	Grant	and	applying	an	outside	scholarship	before	awarding
Campus-Based	aid.	The	student9s	OFA	is	a	$5,500	Pell	Grant	and	a	$400	outside	scholarship: