Federal college grants and subsidies: have they kept up over time?

Paying for College
1

<p>Does anyone have any idea whether Federal grants to students have kept pace with the rate of tuition increases over the years?</p>

<p>I recall a grant (pell?) from when I was in college in the 70s, pre-Reagan, that covered a high percentage - for me, it was actually 100 pct since I was kind of poor, I think - of college tuition.</p>

<p>So fast forward to the 21st century: how well have federal grants kept up with the significantly higher cost of college over the years? My college, UIC, in the 70s, was something like $300-600 per term x 2=600-1200 per yr. Now I see that it is $10,000 per yr. </p>

<p>Are there $10,000 federal grants available?</p>

<p>Today, could someone like me get the same deal as I recvd?</p>

<p>a related question:</p>

<p>How has Federal contribution to the <em>universities</em> kept up over those same years (subsidies)?</p>

2

<p>My understanding from a FA presentation is that there is a maximum federal grant of something like $3,000 (pell?). I further recall that it was said that this number was last updated in the early 90’s - before the extraordinary double digit tuition growth of all colleges, publics and privates, kicked in. So obviously this number is not sufficient now for the usa taxpaying public.</p>

<p>To start with: a kinda poor person as I was should be able to have the funds to go to the local commuter 4 yr state college, which is about $10k. I propose, then, Bump Pell to a maximum of $10k and let lesser amounts be distributed according to financial need. Let’s write our congress people!</p>

<p>The fact that there is such an absurd situation where the average debt of a college student is now 17,500, means, to me, that something stinks and should be corrected.+</p>

<p>quote–</p>

<p>Student loans are becoming an overwhelming financial burden for many grads. The average college student graduates these days $17,500 in the hole, up nearly 45% in 11 years. About 1 in 20 college students will default on his or her student loans, according to the College Board.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.creditcards.com/Moving-Your-Student-Loan-to-a-Credit-Card.php[/url]”>http://www.creditcards.com/Moving-Your-Student-Loan-to-a-Credit-Card.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<ul>
<li><p>a favorite picture of mine is hanging in our child’s middle school depicting a crying baby in a diaper and someone holding the baby at arms length due to the smell. The caption?</p>

<p>If something stinks, change it.</p></li>
</ul>

3

<p>The federal government has 4 main grant programs for undergrads - all are need based.

  1. Pell grant - maximum for the 2007-2008 year is $4310 - it was increased this year for the first time in several years. It is supposed to increase a little each year for the next few years - $4,600 next year, $4,800 the next. To be eligible for Pell your EFC has to be very low and the amount awarded is less as your EFC goes higher (somewhat along the lines of 0 EFC = maximum Pell of $4310, 1000 EFC = Pell $3310, 4300 EFC = pell 0 - not exactly correct but close). Pell eligibility may make one eligible for two newish grants -
  2. Academic Competitiveness grant (1st & 2nd year students who completed a challenging high school curriculum - dependent on State). Currently 1st year students get $750 and 2nd year students $1350 - supposed to increase next year. Must be Pell eligible.
    3.SMART grant of up to $4000 a year (3rd and 4th year students majoring in specific subjects). Again must be Pell eligible.
  3. SEOG. Maximum of $4000 but colleges are given a limited amount of SEOG funds and they choose how to disburse them and they have their own maximum. At my Ds school for instance the maximum is $2000 and how they decide to distribute it is a bit of a mystery. They say it goes to students with the lowest EFC - hers is very low and she did not get it (which I am guessing is because she has a fair bit of merit money but I don’t actually know - I was hoping for the SEOG instead of some loans but overall he aid is pretty good so I cannot complain).
    The best place I have found for researching financial aid is finaid.com. It is kept more up to date than most sites. Has information on loans:
    <a href=“http://www.finaid.org/loans/[/url]”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid;
    and EFC calculators etc.</p>
4

<p>It certainly seems to me that FinAid is not very good for the middle class. I’d say it has grown significantly worse over the years and the Fed should kick in more money, especially to the middle class.</p>

<p>Books, not bombs.</p>