News Pell Grants at 50: Loss of buying power has Congress rethinking ways of paying for college April 3, 2022April 3, 2022 Ledyard King, USA TODAY Comments Off on Pell Grants at 50: Loss of buying power has Congress rethinking ways of paying for college The maximum Pell Grant covered roughly 75% of the cost of a four-year public college when it was enacted in the 1970s. Today, it 's less than a third.