Reports on a $1 billion dollar grant from Bill and Melinda Gates to send 20,000 low-income minority students to college. The Gates Millenium Scholars Program will require students to demonstrate financial need and maintain a 3.0 grade point average in college. A list of the largest private gifts to higher education since 1967 is also provided. (DB)

The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) survey of California Latino youth perceptions of college financial aid reveals: (1) Ninety-eight percent of respondents felt it was important to have a college education; (2) Thirty-eight percent of respondents did not feel the benefits of college outweigh the costs; (3) Not being able to work and incurring…

The work of the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (ACPE) is guided by a strategic plan. The purpose of the plan is to provide focus for the activity of this small agency and its five staff members in order to increase productivity and impact in the areas of its statutory authority. The mission and goals were accepted by Commissioners…

This report examines the relationship between grant assistance and overall college affordability by analyzing data, spanning two decades, from the U.S. Department of Education, the College Board, and other higher education organizations. It identifies the following key trends: (1) need-based grant awards are covering a decreasing percentage of the…

A debate has raged over the effect of federal student aid on tuition growth. Former Secretary of Education, William Bennett claimed that colleges and universities explicitly take federal aid into account in setting tuition and other charges, thereby stimulating tuition increases that are higher than the rate of inflation. An alternative view is…

It appears that many of the problems plaguing the Federal Student Aid Programs are also undermining the Pell Grant program, not so much from dishonesty on the part of students, but by dishonesty on the part of schools. This document presents testimony and prepared statements concerning the allegations of fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the…

This report provides statistics on student aid in the 1980s and 1990s, complementing the publication, "Trends in Student Aid: 1963 to 1983." It revises figures presented earlier for the 1980s and gives estimates for academic year 1990-91. Tables 1 to 8 provide a variety of statistics on student aid, family income, and college costs for…

This volume of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Handbook discusses the eligibility requirements for students and parent borrowers and the responsibilities of institutions in checking to be sure that recipients qualify for their aid awards. The guide also describes recent changes to FSA requirements and procedures. The biggest change for this year is…

In 2002, Catching the Dream (CTD) provided college scholarships to 208 American Indian students as well as grants to improve education in schools that serve Native students. This annual report describes CTD's programs and activities in 2002. Contents include short descriptions of CTD's scholarship, fellowship, and internship programs; describe…

This document summarizes the results of a 15-minute survey that was administered to four hundred 18-24 year-old Latino youth in California to determine their perceptions of financial aid. Among the key findings were that (1) three out of four Latino young adults who did not attend college cited lack of financial aid as a factor in their decision…

This report presents annual data on the amount of financial assistance available to help students pay for postsecondary education. Seven tables and seven charts provide a variety of statistics on student aid, family income, and college costs for the period 1987-88 through 1996-97, including aid awarded to postsecondary students in current dollars;…

As debate continues over who should get what kinds of aid to attend college, it is important to know what students and their families are actually paying for college, where the money is coming from, and how students' methods of paying vary with their family income and the type of institution they attend. To inform these debates, this report uses…

This package is a collection of 12 transparencies to accompany a discussion of reasons to go to college and how to pay for college. The first sheet is an introduction, and the second poses the question "Why go to college or career school?" The third transparency summarizes topics related to paying for college or career school, and the rest of the…

A journalist and college instructor who attended college on a Pell Grant recounts her escape from poverty through education. She notes shifts in public policy toward financial aid through loans and tax credits rather than grants, but urges that the Pell Grant program be restored to the level of assistance provided youth from economically deprived…

The 2008-09 Counselors and Mentors Handbook on Federal Student Aid provides useful information to help high school counselors, TRIO and GEAR UP staff, and other mentors advise students about financial aid for postsecondary education. This book focuses on the federal student aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It contains…