Pell Grant program cuts proposed

Proposed cuts to the Pell Grant program in the House Republicans’ budget proposals would force UCLA to revise financial aid offers.

That could influence the decisions of thousands of admitted students with a May 1 intent-to-register deadline, UCLA officials said Wednesday.

Pell Grants, which are available to undergraduates based on their financial need, serve the lowest income students.

Under current proposals, UCLA stands to lose an estimated $6.7 million a year in grant aid for students starting this fall, said Ronald Johnson, director of the UCLA Financial Aid Office.

UCLA would have to make up for those lost grants by increasing student loans.

UCLA has already sent out preliminary aid offers to admitted freshmen, Johnson said.

Any cuts this late in the admissions process would be extremely disruptive to families of admitted students trying to plan their future finances and to the students who are deciding which college to attend, he said.

“Very few people have excess money to pay for something they thought they were eligible for,” said Rosa Pimentel, the associate director of admissions.

Pimentel added that the potential cut would adversely affect low-income families in particular.

Although all universities in the country would be affected by this cut, some colleges have more resources to make up for the lost money than others. UCLA could probably minimize the impact of the cut on students better than institutions such as small, private colleges or state schools, because of its ability to fundraise and its access to resources, Johnson said.

However, some private institutions with large endowments and alumni donations would be able to make up for the cut more easily than UCLA, because they have fewer Pell Grant students and more financial resources, Pimentel said.

UCLA has the highest percentage of students receiving Pell Grants at any elite college, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Pell Grant program has expanded in the past few years because more youth are attending college, and because the economy has driven others back to school. The success of the program has led to high costs, which is why it is one of the first things on the House’s chopping block, Johnson said.

But this is a program that the university can’t afford to lose, he said.

“These are the most vulnerable students. They cannot afford to have financial barriers placed on their path,” he said.

Johnson said he wants the maximum level of Pell Grants to remain constant, even if that would require doing away with Pell Grants during the summer session, as President Barack Obama has proposed.

“That’s not the ideal situation, but … that’s a sacrifice that can be made,” he said.