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<p>Agreed. For these well stated reasons and for other reasons, smart but poor young people still have the fewest choices of all in American higher education. </p>
<p>I largely agree with bclintonk in the post replying to me, and agree that at the margins it’s a good idea to have some colleges have some “merit” scholarships with no test of a parent’s willingness to pay, because some parents are deadbeats. But to return to the point of the thread, I think it’s regrettable that a state governor would consider reducing funding for need-based financial aid in order to offer more “merit” scholarships, because it would be better public policy to do as bclintonk says and make poor young people more aware of programs targeted to their needs.</p>