If a student qualifies for a Pell Grant, the grant functions like an entitlement. The college must award it to that student, regardless of their own policy.
Only those schools who choose not to participate in the Federal Aid program could limit a Pell Grant, and those are very few and far between and usually do it on religious or political grounds (Grove City and Hillsdale Colleges as examples).
So I think the person quoted is mistaken about why Pomona has low Pell numbers. Of course, there are low-income students who "just miss" qualifying for Pell grants as well, and those numbers are harder to count (and Pomona probably has a number of them). But for most people in higher education, Pell Grant percentage is a good proxy for percentage of low-income students, and while Pomona has a larger number than many schools, it is not as high as many others.
in the knowof CA7:06PM March 24, 2010
"We'll be able to admit really hardworking students from working-class families," says the Dean of Admissions at Hamilton at the end of the article above...
Colleges will benefit from admitting those types of students, regardless from which economic rung they hail. As someone whose parents paid their way through both college and graduate school, I'll admit my work ethic was not as well honed upon leaving it as that of my partner, who worked to pay, himself, from age 14 for everything from movie nights to his car to his school. Electing to attend a state school for engineering rather than accept an offer from MIT was a financial decision which benefited him in the long run - those state loans are long paid-off - and which he has not regretted. These pricier schools should consider not only the ability to immediately pay, but also the interior caliber of the student who has been entirely self-reliant vs. that of the student whose parents have been paying for every item from childhood without allowing the cultivation of his/her independence. The former will go far, working long hours in the "real world" to reach goals since he/she is already accustomed to doing just so, while for the latter, going far might be a struggle without the help of family money and/or nepotism. I have seen too many friends from some of the best high schools in our large city and the best colleges in the country end up burned out and moving back into their parents' tony garages in their 30s to think that money might trump character when it comes to earning potential. It doesn't, and admissions personnel might do well to consider those entering students who are truly more ready for real life, over the spoiled-but-good-on-paper.
more careful parent, nowof TX2:14PM March 23, 2010
Actually, because Pomona uses its own "institutional methodology" to determine a student's need, some students may in fact receive so much in Pomona aid that they become disqualified for Pell grants. If you want to see how Pomona decides how much to give students, read this inside look: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/070408/16pomona.htm
Kim Clarkof DC10:37AM March 23, 2010
"And some schools, such as Pomona College in Claremont, CA, say their Pell grant numbers are misleadingly low because they award such big scholarships that the federal government sometimes no longer considers students needy enough to qualify for Pells."
Okay, so these colleges want us to believe that rather than accept the $5,350 that a financially needy student would receive from the federal government in the form of a Pell Grant, they instead use their own grant aid. And that's why they have so few Pell recipients.
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in the know of CA 7:06PM March 24, 2010
more careful parent, now of TX 2:14PM March 23, 2010
Kim Clark of DC 10:37AM March 23, 2010
An Observer of PA 8:43PM March 22, 2010