Pell Grants are designed to enable more low-income students to go to college, but a new report shows many colleges are using the federal aid to replace their own institutional grants and often not providing enough support to make attending affordable for many disadvantaged students.
In a report released last week, Stephen Burd, a senior policy analyst at the New America Foundation in Washington, outlined how colleges’ pursuit of prestige and revenue is hurting low-income students. It follows up on a report last May that described how many colleges expect students to pay an amount that is equal to or more than their family’s annual income, leaving many taking on large debt loads.
