Advocate Online

They're Talking On Campus. . .

. . .About 90,000 students who could be disqualified from receiving Pell grants and other federal and state financial aid under a Bush Administration change in the formula the government uses to calculate a student’s financial need.

The U.S. Department of Education revised the formula it uses to determine the amount it allows families to deduct for state and local tax payments when applying for financial aid. This means that many families will see their eligibility for federal financial aid cut because the new formula will show them to have more discretionary income available to pay for college than before.

Those that are blocked from Pell Grants will likely also appear to be too wealthy to be eligible for state and institutional aid as well, according to an analysis by the American Council on Education.

. . .About a significant drop in African-American enrollments in universities across the nation. The University of Michigan, for example, is reporting the smallest class of African-American freshmen in 15 years, despite enrolling its largest incoming class in the school's 187-year history.

One factor that could be contributing to the decline is fallout from the June 2003 Supreme Court decision, which required Michigan and other schools to evaluate applicants individually rather than granting extra admission points automatically based on race. As a result, applications have become more abstract and difficult to complete, possibly intimidating potential applicants from the low-income bracket.