Parents & Students: Pell Grant Cuts A' Comin

[MTI]

The Bush administration is expected to soon revise the eligibility formula that qualifies college students for Pell Grants, possibly rendering 84,000 students ineligible for the grant next year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Federal Pell Grant Program is the largest federal aid program for college students and provides need-based grants from $400-$4,050 based on a formula that calculates a student's need.

In the administration's proposed plan, the amount of state and local taxes paid would not play as large a role in the formula used to determine need, thus increasing a student's or family's calculated household income and decreasing a student's calculated need. If a student's calculated need is not great enough, he or she will be ineligible for the grant. In addition, the amount a student receives is also based on calculated need, so some students may receive less next year if their need decreases. However, Bush's plan would keep the maximum Pell Grant at $4,050 for the third year in a row.

The changes will save the Education Department $270 million and will help remedy the $3.7 billion budget shortfall the Pell Grant Program is currently experiencing. Bush also requested $458 million more than was allocated last year for the program.