HTML Preview Grant Status Report page number 1.
October 2004
The Pell Grant program is the cornerstone of aid for low-income students.
• In 2003-04, $12.7 billion in Pell Grants funded 5.1 million students with average grants
of $2,466.
• The maximum Pell Grant is $4,050 in 2004-05. This represents a 3 percent decline in the
infl ation-adjusted value of the Pell maximum since 2002-03, when the maximum Pell Grant
was $4,000.
• Over the decade from 1993-94 to 2003-04, total Pell funds increased by 76 percent in infl ation-
adjusted dollars. The number of recipients increased by 37 percent and aid per recipient
increased by 29 percent after adjusting for infl ation.
• Total Pell funds were 6 percent higher in 2003-04 than in 2002-03, after adjusting for infl ation.
However, the average Pell award was 1 percent lower than it had been the preceding year.
Trends in Student Aid 2004
Pell Grant Status Report
Pell Grants:
Total Expenditures, Maximum Grant and Average Grant per Recipient,
1981-82–2003-04 (in constant 2003 dollars)