The amount that you are awarded can change based on your enrollment intensity and your SAI.
What is Enrollment Intensity for Pell Grant?
Enrollment intensity is the amount of units you're attending divided by 12. That is, Pell increases with each additional unit you take, capping out at 12 units, which is defined as full-time.
For example, let's say you're enrolled in 10 units and your annual award for Pell is $7395. Fall semester is starting next week, and you want to know how much you'll receive and can spend on textbooks. First, divide $7395 in half, as half is intended for fall and the other half for spring. Now you're working with $3697 ("semester award"). Next, remember that Solano pays out the Pell in 2 equal payments—one at the beginning of the semester, and one midway through. Divide it in half again to get $1848. Finally, multiply this number by the enrollment intensity to find the actual disbursement amount. As you are enrolled in 10 units, your enrollment intensity is 10 divided by 12, or 83.33%. 1848 × 0.8333 = $1540. This is how much you'll be disbursed next week.
Pell Grant Enrollment Intensity Table
If the amount of units you're taking is not on the chart, you can add up the numbers to make the math easier. For example, if you're taking 8 units and you want to know how much you'll receive for your first fall disbursement, you could add the disbursement amount for 6 units ($924) and for 2 units ($308) to get $924 + $308 = $1232. This table assumes the student receives a Pell annual award of $7395, which is the maximum for the 25–26 aid year.
| Units | Enrollment Intensity | Pell Annual Award | Pell Semester Award | Actual Annual Award | Actual Semester Award | Disbursement Amounts (Fall/Spring) |
| 1 unit | (1/12) = 8.33% = 0.08333 | $7395 | $3697.5 | $7395 × 0.0833 = $616 | $3697.5 × 0.0833 = $308 | $308 ÷ 2 = $154 |
| 2 units | (2/12) = (1/8) = 16.66% = 0.1666 | $7395 | $3697.5 | $7395 × 0.1666 = $1232 | $3697.5 × 0.1666 = $616 | $616 ÷ 2 = $308 |
| 3 units | (3/12) = (1/4) = 25% = 0.25 | $7395 | $3697.5 | $7395 ÷ 4 = $1848 | $3697.5 ÷ 4 = $924 | $924 ÷ 2 = $462 |
| 4 units | (4/12) = (1/3) = 33.33% = 0.333 | $7395 | $3697.5 | $7395 × 0.333 = $2464 | $3697.5 × 0.333 = $1232 | $1232 ÷ 2 = $616 |
| 6 units | (6/12) = (1/2) = 50% = 0.5 | $7395 | $3697.5 | $7395 ÷ 2 = $3698 | $3698 ÷ 2 = $1848 | $1848 ÷ 2 = $924 |
| 9 units | (9/12) = (3/4) = 75% = 0.75 | $7395 | $3697.5 | 3 units ($1848) + 6 units ($3698) = $5546 | 3 units ($924) + 6 units ($1848) = $2772 | $2772 ÷ 2 = $1386 |
| 12 units | 1 = 100% | $7395 | $3697.5 | $7395 × 1 = $7395 | $3697.5 × 1 = $3697.5 | $3697.5 ÷ 2 = $1848 |
Note: These awards assume the student is not enrolled for summer. A student's Pell can increase if they enroll in summer. This is called year-round Pell. Summer is treated the same as fall or spring, except that summer payments are disbursed in 1 single disbursement at the beginning of the term as opposed to 2 disbursements for fall and spring. Thus, the summer disbursement would be equivalent to the actual semester award.
Note: The exact rounding rules can be complicated and are handled by software. When an annual award is odd, as in this example, the end result would be that one semester award is $1 greater than the other. This applies to all types of cash aid which are an odd amount and are divided in half.
What About Other Grants Besides The Pell? (Cal Grant)
Some other grants can have variable amounts based on a student's enrollment. The most common by far is the Cal Grant.
Enrollment intensity does NOT work the same for Pell and Cal Grants. Pell is exactly proportional, meaning every additional unit (or fraction of a unit) will increase your Pell award. Conversely, Cal Grant uses 3 levels of enrollment intensity: half-time, three-quarters-time, and full-time, which correspond to 50%, 75%, and 100% of your semester award, respectively. (Cal Grant is not awarded to less-than-half time students (students with 0.5–5.5 units), while Pell is.)
Cal Grant Enrollment Intensity Table
This table assumes the student receives a Cal Grant annual award of $3000, which is possible but not necessarily typical.
| Units | Enrollment Intensity | Cal Grant Annual Award | Cal Grant Semester Award | Actual Annual Award | Actual Semester Award | Disbursement Amount |
| 0.5–5.5 units | ineligible | ineligible | ineligible | ineligible | ineligible | ineligible |
| 6–8.5 units | half-time = 1/2 = 50% = 0.5 | $3000 | $1500 | $3000 × 0.5 = $1500 | $1500 ÷ 2 = $750 | $750 (paid once per semester) |
| 9–11.5 units | three-quarters time = 3/4 = 75% = 0.75 | $3000 | $1500 | $3000 × 0.75 = $2250 | $2250 ÷ 2 = $1125 | $1125 (paid once per semester) |
| 12 or more units | full-time = 1 = 100% | $3000 | $1500 | $3000 × 1 = $3000 | $3000 ÷ 2 = $1500 | $1500 (paid once per semester) |
What Happens to My Pell If I Have Late Start Units?
Pell is not paid for late start classes until those classes actually begin. If your late start classes begin in late September, you will be paid Pell for it in late September; if your late start classes begin in October, you will be paid then.
Let's work through an example to understand the process of partial disbursements due to late start units. While this process is actually quite simple, it's not necessarily intuitive.
In this example, we will need to first find the amount of the first Pell disbursement. Then we will do a bit more math to determine the second and third Pell disbursements.
- First, determine how many units are regular start and how many units are late start. Let's say you have 10 units, of which 7 are regular start and 3 are late start.
- Next, we need to know the full amount you have been awarded. To do this, go to FalconNest → Student & Financial Aid → Financial Aid Dashboard → Offer. For this example, let's assume your annual award is $7395. (Remember, this number is the maximum you can receive in a year—it is not what you will receive in a year. We will figure out how much you will receive in step 4. The annual award includes fall and spring combined, so we will need to divide by 2 to get your semester award for fall. 7395÷2=3698.
- Summer is not included. If you are awarded year-round Pell, your annual award can increase beyond $7395.
- Using the Pell Grant Enrollment Intensity Table above, determine your enrollment intensity for both your regular units and your late start units. In this case, you have 3 late start units and 7 regular units, so your enrollment intensity is 3÷12=25%=0.25 and 7÷12=58.33%=0.58333.
- If you have late start units starting on 2 or more different dates, calculate the enrollment intensity for each.
- Multiply both enrollment intensities by your semester award. 3698×0.25=924 and 3698×0.58333=2157. You will receive $2157 before your late start classes begin and $924 after your late start classes begin.
- Specifically, you will receive $1077 on the first Pell payment at the beginning of the semester, $1078 on the second Pell payment about a month into the semester, and $924 on the first disbursement after your late start class begins.
- To understand how Cal Grant will be affected by partial disbursements due to late start units, repeat the above process using the "3 bucket" (half-time, three-quarters time, and full-time) enrollment intensity formula for Cal Grant instead of the direct proportion enrollment intensity formula.
How Does Summer Pell Work?
If a student receives Pell in summer, it does not subtract from their annual award. It adds onto it. Let's say your annual award is $7395, as in the example above. Let's say you take 10 units in fall, 6 units in spring, and 7 units in summer. Your semester award is $3698. This now applies to summer as well. The main difference is that you'll receive all your summer Pell in 1 disbursement at the beginning of the term, whereas in fall and spring you would receive it in 2 equal disbursements.