Dive Summary:
- A change to Pell Grants that kicks students off the grant after 12 semesters instead of 18 is making it harder for students who attended college but never earned a degree to return to school.
- The number of students affected is lining up with the initial projections of 62,000, and colleges are saying that transfer students and students who dropped out and want to return are those hit hardest by the change.
- The average college student still earns a bachelor's degree in less than 12 semesters, but financial aid advisers say students affected by the change were counting on 18 semesters of eligibility and hurt by the fact that all semesters count equally, regardless of full- or part-time status or the size of the grant.
From the article:
In the continuing push to increase the proportion of Americans with college degrees, one group has been singled out as key to reach: those who have attended college and have some credits, but never earned a degree. A recent change to eligibility for the Pell Grant, though, has made it harder for some of those students to complete their studies and earn a degree. ...