AP - A new study says hundreds of thousands of college students who may be eligible for federal financial aid don't get it for a simple reason -- they don't apply.
The study released Monday by the American Council on Education, which represents colleges and universities, says that half of the 8 million undergraduates enrolled in 1999-2000 at institutions participating in federal student aid programs did not complete the main federal aid application form.
Many were well off, and correctly assumed they wouldn't get aid. But the study found 1.7 million low- and moderate-income students also failed to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Two-thirds of community college students did not apply for aid, compared to 42 percent at public four-year colleges and 13 percent at private colleges.
The study concludes 850,000 of those students would have been eligible for a Pell Grant, the principal federal grant for low-income students.
The findings underscore a point often made by educators: Even as college costs rise, students often miss financial aid opportunities because they aren't aware of how the system works.
"It's frustrating when you know someone could be eligible and they just don't do it for various reasons," said Tammy Capps, financial aid director at Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Ill., where about 900 of the 2,500 students receive Pell Grants. She said complexity of the form is often a reason students don't apply.
Personally, I don't have a problem with kids who can't figure out forms or turn them in late not getting federal grants for college tuition. If they can't be bothered to take the time to fill out the form or turn it in on time then they certainly don't tuition college assistance from taxpayers.
And in light of the implications from the article above, I have no idea why politicians are always talking about setting more tax dollars aside for college tuition. It seems like there's plenty of money available already that isn't being used. Further, the more money we set aside the higher college tuitions are going to go. These universities aren't dumb. They know that a lot of the students attending are having their tuition paid, at least in part, by the federal government. So they jack up the price of an education. Who cares, right? The taxpayers are footing the bill.
Its the same reason why health care is so expensive in this country. Its because hospitals can raise prices when an insurance company is paying instead of the patient.
But that doesn't stop politicians from signing into law entitlement after entitlement for college students and health care recipients. Each new wave of elected officials adds another level of taxpayer-backed benefits not realizing that eventually this house of cards they're building is bound to collapse.