The Bush administration is expected to soon revise the eligibility formula that qualifies college students for Pell Grants, possibly rendering 84,000 students ineligible for the grant next year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The Federal Pell Grant Program is the largest federal aid program for college students and provides need-based grants from $400-$4,050 based on a formula that calculates a student’s need.
Last year, 4,145 University students received a Pell Grant, and about 700 of those students received the maximum amount, Director of Student Financial Aid Elizabeth Bickford said. The federal Department of Education estimates that about 4.8 million students received a Pell Grant this year.
In the administration’s proposed plan, the amount of state and local taxes paid would not play as large a role in the formula used to determine need, thus increasing a student’s or family’s calculated household income and decreasing a student’s calculated need. If a student’s calculated need is not great enough, he or she will be ineligible for the grant. In addition, the amount a student receives is also based on calculated need, so some students may receive less next year if their need decreases. However, Bush’s plan would keep the maximum Pell Grant at $4,050 for the third year in a row.
The changes will save the Education Department $270 million and will help remedy the $3.7 billion budget shortfall the Pell Grant Program is currently experiencing. Bush also requested $458 million more than was allocated last year for the program.
This comes as Bush plans to request an additional $87 billion for the
Iraq War.
Bickford said there’s no need to panic because the students that need the aid the most won’t be affected.
“The neediest students won’t be affected because they don’t pay state taxes,” she said.
Bickford said, however, that those that barely qualify may lose their Pell Grant.
“Students that are on that edge may fall off,” she said.
She added that the importance of losing the grant should
not be minimized,
because $400 can mean a lot to a
needy student.
“Grants are so important in keeping debt low,” she said. “When students lose grant money, they have to make up for it in some way.” Students that find themselves in this situation may have to take out loans, work more hours or find an additional job, she said.
“These are things that go against persistence to graduation,” she said.
But Bickford encouraged students who lose their Pell Grants not to drop out and to seek out other forms of aid, such as scholarships.
“Moving students through school puts them in a good position for their career,” she said. “It’s an
investment.”
Senior Eric Mullendore, who receives a Pell Grant for around $2,000, said the changes won’t affect him because he will graduate before they take effect. He added, however, that if his Pell Grant were decreased, he would likely have to take out more loans.
“I would have to pay more back,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to
be picky about a job (after I
graduate).”
He added that his Pell Grant was pivotal in making college affordable.
“I wouldn’t have been able to come here if it weren’t for the Pell Grant,” he said.
Bickford said the good news is that the number of students receiving Pell Grants has consistently increased in past years, meaning
that financial constraints are not
preventing students from attending
the University.

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