Reply to I feel bad for low-income/first-gen students at elite schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was one of the poors at my prestigious university.  I lived at home and spent 3.5 hours per day in transit, and had 2 part time jobs.  I had a decent GPA but could have done better if l didn’t have to commute and work.  Don’t just assume those lower GPAs signal not having a high level of talent, preparation or work ethic.  [/quote]

How come the school or Pell grants did not cover your room and board? [/quote]

DP. The maximum pell grant for the 2023-2024 school year is only $7,395/year. And that is for kids from the absolute neediest families; like, families with an HHI of $39k, for example. I assume the amount was much lower than $7,395 when the poster you’re replying to was in undergrad.[/quote]
Forgive my naïveté, I also thought the schools give FA to Pell eligible students [/quote]

A pell-eligible student who gets into an elite private college is almost certain to get full grant financial aid. Additionally, if they’re in certain states like, say, Ca there are state grant financial aid systems if you go to a public university or cc. Ca has Cal Grant that can be stacked onto Pell Grant. NY state has the Excelsior Scholarship, which if I recall correctly provides free tuition for kids from families with a HHI under $120k, but you stay enrolled full-time. New Mexico has free college tuition for kids with above a 2.5 GPA in high school. FL has the Bright Futures scholarship, and GA has HOPE/Zell. If you can get into UVA or UMich instate, they give great financial aid to low-income students.

So there are opportunities for undergrad funding out there. But if you don’t live in one of those states, it can be VERY crappy. In New England, NJ, PA and IL, basically none of those programs I described above exist except the pell grant. I’m from PA, and the state higher education system is pretty messy & expensive. The community colleges are $5k+/year and are in sparsely populated areas, to start. Most pell-grant eligible students aren’t headed to elite schools. [/quote]

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