Pell grant cuts affect students
Budget cuts in the federal government could directly affect students at Georgia College as early as Summer 2012.
Currently, there are two proposed changes to the current way the Pell Grant is available to students. Both President Obama and the House Republicans plan to cut the grant in order to make up some of the current deficit in the federal government. These cuts would make it more difficult for students to qualify for the grant.
The major propositions in the GOP’s bill are to cut the maximum available money awarded to students who qualify by $845, end funding to other student financial programs and eliminate most of the money that goes to academic support agencies, according to an article from the USA Today. This proposed plan would make the amount of money spent per fiscal year on the grant $17.5 billion.
Obama’s plan would not cut nearly as much from Pell, but it would still affect many students who rely on it. While his plan would not affect the programs that the GOP’s plan would, it will still slice the amount of money spent per fiscal year on it. The new plan would eliminate the grant for summer classes. Students would not be able to use Pell anymore if they wanted to take classes outside of the Fall and Spring semesters. Obama’s plan also affects graduate students specifically.
“One way Obama is going to fund the Pell grant is by cutting the loan interest subsidies on the Stafford loan for graduate and professional students,” said Financial Aid Director Cathy Crawley. “What this is going to do is allow graduate students to qualify for unsubsidized loans only.”
The current Pell Grant pays the interest on student loans off for graduate students as long as they are still in school, but the new plan would eliminate this. If Obama’s bill passes graduate students would have interest accumulate for their student loans. The money spent per fiscal year would be $24 billion, if Obama’s bill passes.
“I only got $800 from the Pell Grant. I got a lot more loans that I’ll have to pay back with interest,” said junior psychology major Katie Anderson. “I will still be able to attend Georgia College, but it will probably take me a lot longer to pay off my student loans.”
Others feel the cuts aren’t in the right places.
“Obama talked a lot about how important a higher education is, and how we need to try and better ourselves, but then he is trying to cut what minimal assistance the government gives us. I don’t really understand how that’s suppose to help us,” said senior French major Emily Barkelew.
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