The Never-Ending Pell Grant Debate
As the government continues to undergo budget talks, one of the line items targeted for cuts is the undergraduate Federal Pell Grant program, the largest source of federal grant aid for low-income college students. If these changes do take place, it could worsen the existing problem of low college retention and graduation. With so much emphasis by the Obama administration to produce the most college graduates by 2020, the proposed cuts could make this effort difficult to achieve.
The Pell grant program currently provides students up to $5,500 per year for college. Republicans have proposed to decrease maximum funding to $3,000 per student and increase eligibility standards from 12 to 15 credits,