Enrollment intensity is the percentage of full-time enrollment at which a student is enrolled, rounded to the nearest whole percent. For example, if full-time enrollment is 12 credit hours and the student is enrolled in 7 hours, the enrollment intensity would be 7 ÷ 12 × 100% = 58%. Enrollment intensity is used exclusively for determining the Federal Pell grant
Enrollment Status is still used for determining eligibility for other Federal Student Financial Aid Programs such as FSEOG, Federal-Work Study, Federal Direct Loans and TEACH Grant.
The chart below outlines how credits translate to enrollment intensity for determining the Federal Pell Grant amount based on enrollment. It compares enrollment status to enrollment intensity so you can see the relationship between the two.
This chart is a supplement to the CUNYfirst queries outlined below in the “Helpful CUNYfirst Queries” section of this article which staff can use to easily calculate Pell by term. This chart is intended to be used by Financial Aid Staff to assist them in financial aid planning and answering questions related to Pell Grant eligibility based on enrollment.
Pell Enrollment Intensity Chart
| Credit Hours | Enrollment Status | Enrollment Intensity |
| 12 or More | Full-Time (F) | 100% |
| 11.5 | Three-Quarter (T) | 96% |
| 11 | Three-Quarter (T) | 92% |
| 10.5 | Three-Quarter (T) | 88% |
| 10 | Three-Quarter (T) | 83% |
| 9.5 | Three-Quarter (T) | 79% |
| 9 | Three-Quarter (T) | 75% |
| 8.5 | Half-Time (H) | 71% |
| 8 | Half-Time (H) | 67% |
| 7.5 | Half-Time (H) | 63% |
| 7 | Half-Time (H) | 58% |
| 6.5 | Half-Time (H) | 54% |
| 6 | Half-Time (H) | 50% |
| 5.5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 46% |
| 5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 42% |
| 4.5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 38% |
| 4 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 33% |
| 3.5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 29% |
| 3 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 25% |
| 2.5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 21% |
| 2 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 17% |
| 1.5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 13% |
| 1 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 8% |
| 0.5 | Less Than Half-Time (L) | 4% |
Calculating Pell
To calculate a Federal Pell grant you must first determine the scheduled Pell award. Student who are eligible for maximum or minimum Pell have their scheduled award determined on that basis. For 24-25 this is $740 for minimum and $7,395 for maximum. Students who are eligible for Pell based on SAI must first subtract the SAI from the Pell grant and round to the nearest 5 before applying enrollment intensity.
EXAMPLE
$7,395 Scheduled Pell
– $302 SAI
=$7,093
Round to nearest 5 = $7,095 = Scheduled Pell
Student is taking 10 credits (83% enrollment intensity)
$7,095 scheduled Pell X .83 = $5,888.85
Divide $5,888.85/2 to get the semester amount =$2,944.43
Helpful CUNYfirst Queries
CU_FA_SAI_PELL_CALCULATOR – Assists college FA staff when advising students or training staff since we no longer have a Pell EFC chart. The query will require a user to input the college, aid year, SAI and Enrollment Intensity (Example: 1.0 for 100%, 0.75 for 75%, etc.). If there is a Max or Min Pell indicator situation (Max or Min Pell is determined on the ISIR) staff must check the appropriate box. It will generate a Pell estimate by the term amount. Use the Pell Enrollment Intensity Chart above to help you convert credit amounts to the correct percentage so that you can enter into the query based on enrollment intensity.
CU_FA_PELL_ESTIMATE_SAI_CALC – This query will estimate a student’s Pell award based on the SAI and enrollment intensity. You can search all Pell eligible (= Y ISIR) students or prompted by EMPLID. This can assist staff when advising a particular student. Used in combination with the query above you can help the student determine how their enrollment intensity will affect their Pell should they make changes.