Amounts can change yearly. The maximum Federal Pell Grant award is $6,345 for the 2020–21 award year (July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021). The amount you get, though, will depend on. your Expected Family Contribution, the cost of attendance (determined by your school for your specific program), your status as a full-time or part-time student, and Expected Family Contribution (EFC): This is your expected family contribution. EFC is calculated based on your financial information. Estimated Financial Need: This is an estimate of the amount of need-based financial aid that you are eligible for. Some families will receive enough aid to cover the entire need, while others will not. Pell Grant Calculator. Use these steps to calculate a Pell Grant estimate for the 2019-2020 academic year: Enter your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is located on your Student Aid Report (SAR) and on your MyFIU. From the dashboard, select Financial Aid, select the current year, then select Financial Aid Summary.