Thursday September 27, 2007, President Bush signed legislation that raised the maximum Pell grant from 4,310 a year to 5,400 a year. The legislation also cuts the interest rates on federally backed student loans from 6.8 to 3.4 percent. The cost of this increase in financial aid is roughly $20 billion, which is to be paid for by cuts in subsidies that the government makes to banks.
Initially, President Bush threatened to veto the bill saying that it included hidden costs and was an expensive expansion of federal programs. But with a veto proof congress, Bush passed the bill.
I'm glad that our government is at the very least doing something to help students go to college. What sucks is that us middle class students are still getting screwed over, because we're not rich enough to pay our way and we're not poor enough for the majority of the financial aid benefits. One of the reasons I ended up at Stephen F. Austin State University was because of the price. I really want to transfer to Texas State next year, but the tuition is the main reason I'm hesitant to do so. Luckily, I can pay for my whole first year at Stephen F Austin (and by me, I mean my Dad) because of the money in my college savings account. Unfortunately, I will not be able to do that for the rest of my college years. My sophomore year I am going to have to apply for financial aid and scholarships (which is why I am a part of ProgressiveU.)
I really hope that I will be able to see the benefits of this new legislation in the coming years.
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Really the only thing that the middle class will benefit from is the lower interest rate. Let's face it any interest on a 60,000$ loan sucks. The pell grant being raised is great for people like me who get the full pell grant every year but for a 21 year old whose parents make a decent wage are you even eligible? I was under the impression you only got the full pell grant if you're broke. How much good did this bill really do for the middle class kids that are suffering?
I really don't understand why the middle class always gets screwed over. I would love to be able to go to college without worrying about the price because it shouldn't be about that. My brother will have drained the bank by the time he graduates college next year then I'll be starting the year after that. He actually goes to Texas State and my parents used my dad's quarterly bonus checks to pay for his freshman and sophomore years but since my dad is involved with the housing market and the housing market is going bad my dad's bonus checks are getting smaller and smaller. Hopefully the market will start to recover and things will be back to normal but right now it's really hard. I wish SOMEONE would do something to help out the in-betweens but I don't have faith in any of the presidential candidates or congress to do anything about it.