Hechinger Report | Q&A with the College Board’s Sandy Baum: ‘Too many low-and moderate-income students are being left behind’

Hechinger Report | Q&A with the College Board’s Sandy Baum: ‘Too many low-and moderate-income students are being left behind’:

Q&A with the College Board’s Sandy Baum: ‘Too many low-and moderate-income students are being left behind’

by Liz Willen

Sandy Baum

Sandy Baum, an independent policy analyst for the College Board, discovered recently that colleges and universities awarded $5.3 billion in grants beyond the demonstrated financial need of students and their families this year. Her analysis included state-supported public universities, which in some cases gave more than half of their aid to students who federal formulas showed didn’t need it. Baum’s findings were documented in aHechinger Report story on November 25th that also ran on the front page of USA Today. Baum spoke withHechinger Report editor Liz Willen about her findings and what they mean.

Q: New figures from the College Board show that U.S. colleges and universities are handing out $5.3