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Community-college Pell-grant share in Florida

Community colleges in Florida ranked by Pell-grant share — the percentage of undergraduates who received a federal Pell Grant in the most recent reporting year. Pell share is a useful proxy for the share of the student body from lower-income households and for the institution's experience serving students who depend heavily on need-based federal aid.

  1. New Professions Technical InstituteMiami, FL91%
  2. SABER CollegeMiami, FL89%
  3. Florida National University-Main CampusHialeah, FL85%
  4. Ultimate Medical AcademyClearwater, FL80%
  5. Gwinnett InstituteOrlando, FL78%
  6. Southeastern College-West Palm BeachWest Palm Beach, FL77%
  7. Med CollegeHialeah, FL76%
  8. Taylor CollegeOcala, FL76%
  9. Premiere International CollegeFort Myers, FL71%
  10. Fortis College-Cutler BayCutler Bay, FL70%
  11. Universal Technical Institute-South Florida MiramarMiramar, FL67%
  12. Galen Health Institutes-GainesvilleGainesville, FL66%
  13. Herzing University-OrlandoWinter Park, FL65%
  14. HCI CollegeWest Palm Beach, FL64%
  15. Ultrasound Medical InstituteRoyal Palm Beach, FL64%
  16. Cambridge College of Healthcare & TechnologyDelray Beach, FL63%
  17. Jones Technical InstituteJacksonville, FL63%
  18. Academy for Nursing and Health OccupationsWest Palm Beach, FL61%
  19. Keiser University-Ft LauderdaleFort Lauderdale, FL57%
  20. Galen Health Institutes-Miami CampusPembroke Pines, FL57%
  21. Herzing University-TampaTampa, FL57%
  22. Rasmussen University-FloridaOcala, FL54%
  23. City College-HollywoodHollywood, FL52%
  24. Galen Health Institutes-SarasotaSarasota, FL50%
  25. Galen College of Nursing-Tampa BaySaint Petersburg, FL49%
  26. Universal Technical Institute-OrlandoOrlando, FL49%
  27. South Florida State CollegeAvon Park, FL43%
  28. Hillsborough Community CollegeTampa, FL42%
  29. City College-Altamonte SpringsAltamonte Springs, FL41%
  30. Broward CollegeFort Lauderdale, FL40%
  31. North Florida CollegeMadison, FL39%
  32. Pensacola State CollegePensacola, FL39%
  33. Palm Beach State CollegeLake Worth, FL38%
  34. Florida State College at JacksonvilleJacksonville, FL37%
  35. Florida SouthWestern State CollegeFort Myers, FL35%
  36. Daytona State CollegeDaytona Beach, FL35%
  37. Tallahassee State CollegeTallahassee, FL34%
  38. Indian River State CollegeFort Pierce, FL34%
  39. State College of Florida-Manatee-SarasotaBradenton, FL33%
  40. St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL33%
  41. Polk State CollegeWinter Haven, FL32%
  42. Lake-Sumter State CollegeLeesburg, FL30%
  43. Eastern Florida State CollegeMelbourne, FL29%
  44. Pasco-Hernando State CollegeNew Port Richey, FL29%
  45. Advance Science International CollegeMiami Lakes, FL29%
  46. Gulf Coast State CollegePanama City, FL28%
  47. Santa Fe CollegeGainesville, FL28%
  48. The College of the Florida KeysKey West, FL28%
  49. Atlantis UniversityMiami, FL27%
  50. Chipola CollegeMarianna, FL27%

How to interpret Pell share

The federal Pell Grant is the largest need-based grant program in U.S. higher education. Eligibility is determined by the FAFSA and is based primarily on family income and assets relative to the cost of attendance. A community college with a high Pell-grant share is, by construction, an institution whose student body skews toward lower-income households. That is not a quality signal in either direction on its own — many of the strongest community-college transfer pipelines in Florida run through institutions with high Pell shares — but it does indicate where institutional services such as emergency aid, child-care subsidies, food pantries, and need-based scholarships are most likely to be developed and well-resourced.

If you are eligible for the Pell Grant, the practical implication is that several of the community colleges on this list will be tuition-free for you after the grant is applied, with state aid and institutional aid often covering most of the remaining cost of attendance. File the FAFSA as early as possible in the academic year — it determines eligibility for all major federal need-based programs, and many state aid programs in Florida use the FAFSA as their qualifying application as well.