Pell Grant Cuts

[Smuckatelli]

News from a month ago......

What is a 'Pell Grant' and what effect will this law have?

The email states that the cut in eligibility was part of an education bill President Obama signed into law in 2011. "On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74). This new federal law states that the amount of Federal Pell Grant funds a student may receive over his or her LIFETIME will be reduced to the duration of a student's eligibility from 18 semesters (or its equivalent) to 12 semesters (or its equivalent). This new law applies to ALL Federal Pell Grant eligible students effective with the 2012-2013 award year beginning July 1, 2012. (DCL-GEN-12-01)"

http://www.examiner.com/article/college-students-learn-of-obama-s-secret-pell-grant-cuts

[LongBlade]

I have heard of them but never investigated them. Did a quick search and found:

Pell grants are need based grants (not a loan - the grant does not need  to be repaid).

They come with a number of stipulations, none of which appear to be particularly onerous.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/grants-scholarships/pell

[Longdan]

This means somebody will get 33% less free money than they did before.

[LongBlade]

This means somebody will get 33% less free money than they did before.

Might not be a bad thing - in reading through that link I provided it mentions that subsidies can be given for a maximum of 12 semesters. That's six years.

Cutting by 33% means you're limited to four years.

The downside is that the grants have been available to part-time as well as full-time students. So it begs the question as to whether it's a good thing to try and force folks to get their degree finished in four years or not. Unintended consequences and all that.

[MetalDog]

I went to college on a pell grant.  There was always more money from the grant than was needed.  It wasn't a vast amount, but a couple, three hundred dollars at that age was like a fortune :-)

[Longdan]

Does that mean you are a Commie?

[MetalDog]

No.  Just poor.