85% of undergraduate college students across the country are seeking financial aid to attend 4-year degree colleges and universities, according to The National Center for Education Statistics. Financial aid is based on need, but some low-income students are left with the challenge of trying to come up with $10,000 or more a year for tuition.
How the system is failing poor students
The Federal Pell Grant is money that does not have to be repaid. The amount is based on need and the cost of the school. But the amount is limited, and the amount of the grants are not keeping up with rising college tuition costs. The issue is most concerning at private nonprofit universities, where 94 percent of low-income students end up paying $10,000 a year. Among students in families that earn less than $30,000 a year, ten percent of private nonprofit universities required students receiving Pell grants to pay more than $25,000 a year.
The result is an increase in the amount of low-income students who do not graduate. Schools who have large numbers of low-income students receiving Pell grants have lower graduation rates, creating a graduate rate gap of up to a 14 point difference.
Obama's pledge
In his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama addressed the need to expand the Pell grant program. He also said there is a need to cut college costs. Both of these initiatives would make a huge difference in not only getting low-income students into college but keeping them there until they graduate.
Read more at www.goodcall.com/news/financial-aid-falls-short-for-low-income-students-reveals-new-america-report-05650
