ACE has joined a broad coalition of nearly 1,200 organizations, including almost 900 colleges and universities, in urging Congress to double the maximum Pell Grant.
The nation’s foundational investment in higher education, Pell Grants help nearly 7 million low- and moderate-income students attend and complete college annually. But as the groups point out, the share of college costs covered by the grant is at an all-time low. At its peak, the maximum grant covered three-quarters of the cost of attending a four-year public college. Now, it covers less than one-third of that cost.
Due to this gap, Pell Grant recipients are more than twice as likely as other students to have student loans, with grant recipients who borrow graduating with over $4,500 more debt than their higher-income peers.
As ACE President Ted Mitchell said in a statement last week, this important investment would drive economic recovery, help address racial and economic inequities in college completion rates, and increase overall educational attainment. Doubling the maximum Pell Grant—and indexing it to inflation—"is something Congress can agree to on a bipartisan basis as a fast and effective way to bolster opportunity for millions of students.”
ACE is working with The Institute for College Access & Success, UNCF, the Student Aid Alliance, and other groups to advance this important issue.