Pell grants for summer are dropped in budget deal Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Tim Barker Among all the compromising done by Democrats and Republicans in arriving at a budget deal was a plan to trim back the rapidly escalating costs of the Pell Grant program that supports low-income college students. They decided to kill the portion of the program that offers support for the summer semester. It was either that or trim the maximum award - $5,550 - offered to students during the full year. Cutting summer aid, starting in 2012, was the better option in the eyes of some local financial aid officers. Pa. private colleges brace for possible funds cut Source: Associated Press By: Kathy Matheson Student protests and raucous Capitol rallies have drawn much attention to the 50 percent cuts proposed for Pennsylvania's 18 state-owned and state-related universities. Less visible, but equally concerned, are administrators at private colleges in Pennsylvania. Their institutions also face 50 percent cuts in aid, which they say will make it more difficult to serve low-income state residents. About 31 percent of students who received need-based state grants attended private universities in Pennsylvania last year. 10 Colleges With Highest 4-Year Graduation Rates Source: U.S. News and World Report By: Katy Hopkins Across all the schools, a mere 40 percent of students, on average, started college in 2003 and graduated from the same institution four years later. At the 10 colleges with the highest four-year graduation rates, in contrast, an average of about 90 percent of students completed their degree in four years. Top-ranked liberal arts colleges, which typically boast low student-to-faculty ratios and offer a relative ease of getting into required courses, dominate the top schools for four-year graduation rates.
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