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Access to higher education has long been a benefit of the upper class. It takes money to go to college, and when lower-income families struggle just to make ends meet, a college education often falls by the wayside. The relationship between affluence and education can, and often does, leave people behind.
The Pell Grant, part of federal financial aid, can help to ease the cost burden of higher education for needy students. It is the only government grant based entirely on need and is most commonly awarded to lower-income students working toward undergraduate degrees.
“It is the only grant source available to needy students that has no other requirements than need,” University Financial Aid Office Director Elizabeth Bickford said. “All students need to do is apply for it. If they’re needy, they will always get the Pell Grant.”
At the University this year, Pell Grant awards totaling $10.7 million were dispersed to 4,049 needy students — about one quarter of the undergraduate student body — according to the University’s Office of Student Financial Aid.
“It’s the largest grant we have based on need,” Bickford said, adding that the Pell Grant is really the “meat and potatoes” of need-based awards.
Individual awards for the 2002-03 academic year may have reached a maximum of $4,000, with the average award falling around $2,000.
Pell Grants tend to make up approximately 20 percent of lower-income student funding for college. The other 80 percent typically comes from federal loans and other sources, said Stefan Myers, a legislative associate with the ASUO. Myers said that just 20 years ago, 80 percent of student funding came from grants and only 20 percent came from loans.
“We need to get the grants back to a level where they can cover student expenses,” he added.
Myers and several members of the University student body recently joined other schools and members of the U.S. Student Association in Washington, D.C., where they lobbied for increases to the Pell Grant award.
As a result of the efforts of the group, the Senate raised the maximum award for the Pell Grant to $4,550, an increase of $550. According to U.S.S.A. Legislative Director Mary Cunningham, the group made such an impact that the Senate felt it had no choice but to pass the increase. Cunningham added that the increase will not be final until after the appropriations process is complete, and the increase is approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
In the meantime, University students should plan on continuing to contact their senators and voicing their support for the Pell Grant, Myers said. The ASUO is putting together a list of students interested in future lobbying for the grant and Myers encourages students to drop by the ASUO office and sign up.
“The Pell Grant is one of the most important grants out there,” Myers said. “It really opens gateways to higher education. We need to make sure our legislators know how important Pell Grants are to our education.”
For more information on how to show support for the Pell Grant, contact Stefan Myers at 346-0628.
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