<p>Budget cuts…</p>
<p>You have this real need to identify people’s paths early on and lock them in, Beliavsky. Why is that? Why does your worldview not allow for passion, maturity, second chances, renewed spirits, hope? Do you ever actually encourage people to try things they may or may not be good at, or not get on the first try? Or change careers or find a new path?</p>
<p>What scares you so much about life that serendipity is frightening to you?</p>
<p>An earlier post on graduation rates of Pell grant recipients was removed because it referred to a blog hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Here are statistics from a different source, and they don’t look good either.</p>
<p>[Panel</a> Advises Overhaul of Pell Grants for Students
Wall Street Journal
April 9, 2013
By JOSH MITCHELL](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323820304578411071860598516.html]Panel”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323820304578411071860598516.html)
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<p>The article notes that spending on Pell grants rose an inflation-adjusted 84% from 2008-09 to 2011-12, to $34.5 billion dollars.</p>
<p>Surprising that the chronicles link is considered an unacceptable blog. Don’t recall the post per se but thought that was a reputable source.</p>
<p>Maybe read it again.
“The study recommends changes designed to steer funds to the neediest, away from some moderate-income families, while also improving students’ chances of graduation.”<br>
And “Students in the older group would get more targeted, one-on-one counseling sessions at independent career centers. The idea is to advise people who are often switching careers and plan to get associate’s degrees, rather than bachelor’s, to pick up skills quickly to re-enter the labor force.”</p>
<p>I ask again, Beliavsky - did these Pell studies take into account the fact that Pell grant students often work (more than just part-time) while going to school, hence graduating later?</p>
<p>And WHAT, pray tell, IS THE PROBLEM WITH GRADUATING IN 6 YEARS??</p>
<p>I’ll take that a step further. What is the matter with graduating in ten years? Some lower income students find it necessary to take courses AND work to find their college costs. I applaud them for graduating no matter how many years it takes.</p>
<p>One can take a Pell for 12 semesters…and I personally agree with kat…so what if the student graduates in six years instead of four. So what?</p>
<p>Bel…why is this important to you anyway? You have clearly stated you have very young kids. You don’t see any value in traditional colleges (per the numerous threads you have started with articles that diss them), and you definitely are not Pell eligible.</p>
<p>I sure wish I understood why you feel the need to diss colleges repeatedly…by finding articles that do so.</p>
<p>Perhaps the college landscape will change in more than the several years until your kids are ready for college…if you deign to let them even go.</p>
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<p>I don’t think Pell grants should support that last type of college, and that type of college relies on government grants and loans more than others.</p>
<p>[Data</a> Points: For-Profit Colleges Capitalize on Pell Grant Revenue - Financial Data - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Data-Points-For-Profit/63388]Data”>http://chronicle.com/article/Data-Points-For-Profit/63388)</p>
<p>From Beliavsky’s WSJ article:</p>
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<p>This is not correct, at least not in my experience. I’ve filed FAFSA with IRS e-link required for 2 years now.</p>
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<p>The ironic part is how I saw this assumed “rule breaking” in spades at my undergrad where extensions were handed out very freely. Sometimes even for exceedingly poor planning/goofing off/getting stoned/waiting to the last minute. </p>
<p>As Romani noted in a previous thread where I mentioned this phenomenon, it sometimes came to bite such entitled upper/upper-middle class classmates in the rear once they found workplace supervisors weren’t nearly as tolerant of employees asking for extensions or other forms of what one former supervisor fed up with such reports regarded as “special treatment for spoiled princes/princesses”. </p>
<p>Saw a few younger fresh college grad colleagues with such adjustment/entitlement issues fired well before their probationary period ended because supervisors like the example above had no time for their BS.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with asking. Nothing ventured nothing gained. A kid on my D’s college forum was invited to campus for a special event. She called Admissions and asked about a free airplane ticket to attend the event and it was granted. This would have been a missed opp otherwise.</p>