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| #1 | |||
| Obsessed Fan  Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,547
| Pell Grants to be Decreased It is estimated that 90,000+ students will lose their Pell Grants in 2005-2006 and many more will lose part of their Pell Grants: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...WS01/411260365 __________________ When people get the opportunity to talk about the real issues, it becomes clear how vacuous the present agenda is. I have never met anyone in Vermont who thinks it's a good idea to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut back on health care and education. Nobody.-U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders | |||
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| #2 | |||
| Extreme Fan Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,010
| Thanks for posting that. This has to be my favorite part..."Republicans say it's necessary, because more students are qualifying for Pell Grants each year and the program already has a nearly $4 billion shortfall. "This change ... would redirect grant funding to those most in need," said Steve Forde, spokesman for Rep. John Boehner, the West Chester Republican who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce." If you qualify for a Pell Grant under current calculations, chances are pretty good that you really need it. And, in my opinion, if you're going to talk about education so much during a major campaign, I think you need to put a little effort into actually supporting education. Especially when we're talking about funding for those that seem to really need it. __________________ quaeque ipse miserrima vidi et quorum pars magna fui (All these terrible things I saw, a great part of which I was) - Virgil, The Aeneid | |||
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| #3 | |||
| Obsessed Fan Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,547
| It's sad that many people will now no longer be able to afford to go to college. It's a serious problem and it's only getting worse. Nothing is being done to stop it. And to take grant money away from the neediest is horrible. I'm glad I already graduated. __________________ When people get the opportunity to talk about the real issues, it becomes clear how vacuous the present agenda is. I have never met anyone in Vermont who thinks it's a good idea to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut back on health care and education. Nobody.-U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders | |||
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| #4 | |||
| Addicted Fan  Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 4,102
| Joy and rapture, I tell you. My pell grant already doesn't cover most of what I need it to; and now you want to cut it? Bastards. Thank you, America. __________________ "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - Sirius Black, GoF | |||
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| #5 | |||
| Total Fan  Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 7,246
| That's crappy. So if you had to have an income of 40,000 per family after taxes, it's now going to be that you have to make under 40,000 before taxes? Thats's what I got from the article anyway. If that's the case I'm not going to lose my Pell grant but it is troublesome that a lot of other people will, and they might be decreased which would suck too. __________________ Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer. --Bruce Graham | |||
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| #6 | |||
| Passionate Fan Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 3,828
| Pell Grant is free money right? (you dont have to pay back) why not just get loans. __________________ This space for rent. | |||
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| #7 | |||
| Master Fan  Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 20,783
| My understanding of why you get a Pell grant instead of just a loan is because you don't want to come out of college with the debt from the loans, whereas with the Pell grants, you don't pay it back. If someone who had a Pell grant before this change is losing theirs because of the changes, it's a pretty sure thing that you wouldn't have the finances to pay back the loans. So, you're already at a low income level and you lose your Pell grant, then, to compensate for losing the Pell grant, you get a student loan and when you get out of college you have this debt following you around. Maybe if you got a good job straight of out school, you could pay it back fast, but with the job market today, that's not very likely. You'll probably end up working at wal-mart, making minimum wage, which hasn't been raised to compensate for inflation over the past few years, by the way, and living hand-to-mouth. I see the logic in this train of thought, don't you? P.S. I was being facetious, in case you couldn't tell. __________________ If looks could really kill, then my profession would be staring / know we do this cause we care and not for the thrill .... Samantha  #121 | |||
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| #8 | |||
| Obsessed Fan  Joined: May 2001
Posts: 5,124
| Personal Story: I was actually in charge of administrating California Board of Governor's Grants as well as Pell Grants at the Community College level back in the mid-90s. My job was to literally tell people whether or not they qualified for BGG, or Pell Grants based on their income and a predetermined formula, and I would sometimes have to tell, for example, a single mother with three kids who was hoping to go to night school on Pell Grant money (so she could get a better job) that she didn't qualify and have her walk out of my office in tears while trying to hold her head up. What I witnessed on a daily basis IS the reality of the world and the (now) current economy the Republicans and wealthy people try and pretend doesn't exist and it makes me sick and angry... Mostly angry. There ARE two Americas whether anyone wants to admit it or not... And it IS becoming more like a third world country every day in a lot of respects... Especially, only the wealthly being able to afford a decent, post-high school education. On a related note, the lowering of Pell Grants and financial aid is another prime example of this administration to try get more (young) people into the military without an open draft because if it comes down to either starving and being homeless in America, or eating hotmeals and living in an Iraqi army base... Which one do you think people are forced into survive? SuperDeluxe Taking out a loan may be fine if you know for a fact that you are going to be able to pay it off (either through friends and family, or a guranteed high pay position once you graduate). However, the reality is a lot of people can't even qualify to take out a loan in the first place which is exactly why they are hoping for state and federal assistance instead. The other reality is that a lot of banks and lending insitutions are now making some loans due the day after a person graduates from college. The.Day.After. They've been forced into doing it this way because they know, in an ironic twist, that the job market isn't as good as it has been in the past and if they let the loan "slide" the kids (or whomever) will never actually pay it back if they don't have to... And it is NOT because the kids are lazy and don't have any intention of paying it back either. It's because they need time to get that first, full-time salaried job and get their finances in order (home; car; ultitiles; etc.). Remember, things take a lot longer in the real world than they do on paper... But again, that's part of the problem and part of the Catch-22 that's going on now with a majority of Americans who compose the shrinking Middle-Class. Also, the consequences of NOT paying back a loan in a timely manner are devastating in that they effect your credit rating, your ability to qualify for other loans like mortgage and car and is not something that should be taken lightly -- and isn't -- And is why taking out a loan is not as simple as an option as it would seem. Last edited by UnsilentMajorty; 12-01-2004 at 05:40 PM. | |||
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| #9 | |||
| Master Fan  Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 10,166
| So I guess it's no child left behind until the child decides to attend college... __________________ sorry i cannot hear you i'm kind of busy | |||
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| #10 | |||
| Obsessed Fan Joined: May 2001
Posts: 5,124
| Quote:
It's a survival-of-the-fittest kind of system and it is shameful that the most powerful and wealthy nation on the planet has decided to pit its most valuable resource... Teachers and students/young minds... Against each other in some dystopian struggle because a certain part of the population doesn't care if those who are less off succeed, or not. My father is a inner-city high school teacher and he sees the realities of NCLB more than anyone. It forces him and his fellow teachers to concentrate on these stupid tests rather than actually teaching subjects like history, world culture, etc -- Well-rounded subjects like I said above -- And especially in schools like where my father works as it is NOT a rich, White suburban school that can just afford to not adhere to NCLB. Also, it arbirtrarily forces troubled children and those with special needs to be put in with regular students (hence the "no child left behind" aspect) and you can tell this isn't the most ideal situation for real learning to take place. It also doubles the student-to-teacher ratios and puts more stress on teachers who are already stretched too thin to begin with. But you never hear about these things, do you? You didn't hear about this during the election, did you? In addition, the real interesting thing that NCLB sheds light on is that some of these issues that the critics of NCLB are bringing to light have been going on for years... In the Black and minority inner-city schools. How "interesting", that it is considered a problem now that it is creeping into White surburbia, huh? | |||
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| #11 | |||
| Obsessed Fan Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,547
| I find it ironic that MH from this board was applauding Bush for his Pell Grant policies and how that was one of his great accomplishments in higher education. Looks like MH was dead wrong. The government just pulled the wool over America's eyes. __________________ When people get the opportunity to talk about the real issues, it becomes clear how vacuous the present agenda is. I have never met anyone in Vermont who thinks it's a good idea to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut back on health care and education. Nobody.-U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders | |||
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| #12 | |||
| Addicted Fan  Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 4,595
| Oh, that's wonderful. My Pell Grant doesn't cover the tuition or textbook costs for one class. I'll probably be getting $0 next year. Loans? I've got two of them...who knows when I'll be able to pay them back. Scholarships? I turned in my applications almost five months ago. The fall semester is over in two weeks and my college hasn't even started looking at applications. My biggest problem with the whole financial aid process is that students are forced to put their parents' tax information on their forms. My father has NOTHING to do with me at all, and though my mom and I have a relationship, she doesn't contribute anything to me financially. Yet, until I'm 24 years old, I have to put their taxes on my FAFSA form. It's ridiculous! I barely have enough money to pay half the monthly bills (I live with my best friend), yet because of my parents' money, I can't get any help. If I can prove that they don't support me, I shouldn't have to involve them with my financial aid. | |||
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| #13 | |||
| Obsessed Fan Joined: May 2001
Posts: 5,124
| The military is looking pretty darn good right about now, isn't it? Oh, wait. There's that pesky "War in Iraq" thing going on. Scratch that... | |||
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| #14 | |||
| Obsessed Fan Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,547
| I feel horrible for all the people that will now be forced out of college because of this. __________________ When people get the opportunity to talk about the real issues, it becomes clear how vacuous the present agenda is. I have never met anyone in Vermont who thinks it's a good idea to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut back on health care and education. Nobody.-U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders | |||
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| #15 | |||
| Extreme Fan  Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,286
| This wouldn't really effect me because all the student loans that i have right now would have to be paid for and i don't really qualify. But i do feel bad for those that need it and now might not be able to get it. | |||
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