A cut in Cal Grants could make going to a private university harder for low-income students, further limiting their options to get a college education, a local university administrator says.
In the budget he recently signed, Gov. Jerry Brown cut Cal Grants for students at private nonprofit and for-profit universities. Cal Grants are based primarily on family income.
The cut, which takes effect this coming school year, will affect students at schools such as California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, said Matthew Ward, CLU's vice president for enrollment management and marketing.
"The long-term implications of this are of great concern," Ward said. "State schools can't take more students, and these students are losing their funding to go to private schools. ... The worst case scenario — they don't get educated at all."
Students statewide already are finding going to college harder as the state's public universities trim enrollment, classes and services in response to state budget cuts. That means more are turning to private schools and out-of-state schools, which haven't been hit as hard.
"What does this mean for education in general?" Ward said. "Where are these students going to be able to go?"
Under the governor's budget, the maximum Cal Grant for students attending a private nonprofit university will decline to $9,223 from $9,708 this coming school year. Over the next two years, the grant will continue to drop, falling to $8,056 in 2014-15.
Magen Sanders, 19, a CLU sophomore who has a Cal Grant, thinks she may have to take out another loan to make up the difference. But she's worried about students who couldn't go to school without the full grant.
"For other students I've met, there's no way of making up that money," Sanders said. "If they didn't have that, there's no way they would have been able to go to college. This will have a larger impact than most people think."
CLU has about 400 students who receive Cal Grants, Ward said. The school's total enrollment is about 2,400.
The school is still deciding how it will handle the cuts, but it likely will cover the shortfall for students, he said.
Students at for-profit universities such as Brooks Institute will be harder hit. The maximum grant for students at those schools will also decrease to $9,223 from $9,708 next year — the same drop as at private schools. But for the next school year, the grant will drop to $4,000.
Seven percent of Brooks students receive Cal Grants, and the school does not expect the cuts to have a big impact, officials said.
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Comments » 18
viking2265 writes:
Here's a little suggestion....get a job. Any student can make up the $500 difference quickly....even at minimum wage.
smithjc#403367 writes:
why are we giving students "public money" (i.e., taxpayer dollars) to go to private schools? these grants should be for public schools ONLY.
i'm sure there will still be plenty of taxpayer money for illegal aliens to attend the college of their choice.
VenturaMusician writes:
$500? We are talking cuts of $500? Oh good grief, just don't buy the iPhone for Pete's sake, problem solved!
cjr writes:
For nine months of school $500 works out to just about $55 per month. Baby sitting on Friday and Saturday nights should be able to make that. Working as a courtesy clerk in a grocery store Friday night, Saturday and Sunday should make considerably more than that.
Flipping burgers at Mickey D's for the same three days should make that. There are any number of ways to make that kind of money.
I worked the night shift full time at a grocery store, supported a wife and two kids and went to school part days to put myself through school. Of course I didn't have a TV. I didn't have a car — rode a bike a lot and took the bus. I didn't have a portable phone. Didn't have a portable music device. Had a radio that I bought at Goodwill, make my end tables out of scrap wood, used concrete blocks and 1 x 6's for shelving for books, bought furniture using no interest in-store credit. If they didn't offer no interest credit, I walked. My wife made a great many clothes for our kids and turned the collars and cuffs on my shirts so that they would last longer. If they couldn't be turned she made collars out of the tails. The cuffs can always be turned. She also washed all the diapers and hung them on a laundry tree we put up in the yard on laundry days . We made soup for us and bought tough cuts of meat and cooked it until it was tender. I don't think they even sell boiler chickens in the store any more, but whole chickens are cheap and can make enough soup for two weeks. A small end of the ham can make enough soup with dried beans and lentils to last two weeks too. I know, I did all the cooking while my wife was pregnant because she was very ill with morning sickness for almost the entire length of both pregnancies and couldn't stand the smell of cooking.
If you want to go to school badly enough, you can economize and live frugally enough to go. The question is: How badly do you want it?
The next question to ask yourselves, if you are considering college as training for employment, is: how much demand is there for the course of study I am undertaking? An English major is fine, but you can accomplish the same thing just by reading great authors on your own. Political science — is there really such a thing? Before you embark on four years of studies in Chicano studies, research the employment field first. Perhaps that is something you should pursue out of college in your own course of study. Journalism? Well, we all know where the newspapers are headed. I would look at a technical school and learn horseshoeing before I pursued a degree in journalism. In fact, an apprenticeship in blacksmithing would pay some money and give you a trade that is in growing demand. Plumbing? Yeah, the work can be hard and dirty but it's not going to be exported to China and they make good money and seem to be busy all the time. Electrician? Same thing. Won't go to China; busy all the time, even with the slow down in housing.
kelly13 writes:
Another example of cuts for US citizens but jerry is all over the Dream (nightmare) act or giving more benefits to illegals (democrats ). How has jerry brown helped us legal residents of California? Now ask yourself has he hurt us. This sanctuary state crap is killing us.
StillSickOfIt writes:
Dream Act
TyRollings writes:
ummmmm...what about help for us middle income who are not "poor" enough, yet pay taxes and have to sign a pact with the devil to send our children to school? Low income gets all help the government can provide, food stamps, tax credit, housing, cal grants, that if calculated annually, would be worth more than what a middle income household makes. Some people actually decided not to work after being laid off because being unemployed would give their children more chances at college grants.
Chilibreath writes:
Ty, you hit the nail on the head. All lefty programs and public handout money is targeted to low income and illegal folks. Those hard-working Americans in the middle-income bracket always take it in the shorts!
Johnd writes:
The standards should be raised. If they to take "Remedial Classes", that they should have done in High School, they should do that at their own expense. If they did not apply themselves when they had the opportunity, now's their time. Time for accountability & once that's learned, it'll be a standard in the future.
madman805 writes:
The world needs ditch diggers too
2wheelsguy writes:
Yeah, let's make it harder for those low-income students to get an education, first by significantly increasing tuition at state schools and then by decreasing the financial aid available to students. That way, education can be what it's supposed to be, for those born into money instead of the dirty peasants who would dare to try to live the American dream! Let them eat cake!
ENVIROSCIGUY writes:
Why are you neocons "cherry-picking" again? You favor public money going to private business, but not to private education? You favor tax cuts for the rich, which put more of a burden on the middle-class, then you want "welfare" for the middle?
Although I attended Cal Lu on a Cal Grant that covered about 75% of costs, I have no problem with Governor Brown's small cut in financial aid. I also think some of the for-profit schools that give worthless degrees should be cut off completely. Progressives are consistent in their position that education should primarily be a PUBLIC endeavor. In Finland, private schools are illegal.
northwestprincess writes:
Cjr, ventura,viking, chili, and the rest, all spot on,thanks ! Also, if you can't "afford" to go to a 4 year start with community, get lower division credits, work a job, balance your life then go on to a university. Entitlements and whining, dream acts, all coddling, too expensive and not sustainable. BTW, for the truly hard working "poor", many private universities, i.e. Harvard, Princeton, take off thousands to assist those with xlnt gpa's. There is nothing wrong with hard work, and, if it takes a couple extra years, so be it. Student loans should not be only for the "evil" middle income, come on, we can all get out there and earn our way ~~~
surfmedic91#425000 writes:
Join the military and get your education up to a Masters degree paid for with tuition assistance and you don't even have to use your GI Bill. Save it for your kids. Some posts, like Fort Hood, allow you to get an AA/AS at the local education center and have 4yr representatives full time there.
If you are low income and want free money to pay for your education, your high school education gpa should reflect your ability and drive to warrant education benefits.
bnr-in-vta writes:
GET A JOB!
Tashi writes:
I was talking to a friend yesterday about the differences in attitude between today's young people and those of our generation. It came down to: We also wanted many things including a good education. The difference is that we worked for what we wanted and today the young people demand that they be given what they want.
oneonpch writes:
Politics aside, my company is growing engineering development in Asia. Not because its cheaper but because its far easier for us to find qualified candidates there. You see, while the US appears to want more ditch diggers, Asia is actively investing in their future and they are getting results.
All my company really cares about is getting our products on the market in a timely manner so we are forced to work across time zones between our domestic teams and offshore teams, its a pain with the cultural, language, and time differences.
We would much prefer to use all domestic engineers if we could find all that we need but there aren't enough of them - recruiting efforts do not yield enough candidates to satisfy the rate that we need to hire at.
The US is falling behind in higher education in areas where the economy seriously needs people.
Added to this is that once we finally do something about education, it'll take years to see the results.
But hey, our ditches will look great.
NikkiP writes:
Are you kidding me?! I am Senior in High School at a PRIVATE SCHOOL. My parents pay taxes to send kids to go to school at public school as well as trying to find money to send me to my private school. My family is NOT wealthy, we can only pay a third of our school bill. The rest is paid by donors that believe in the school I go to and my church wanting me to have a christian education. Without the Cal Grant I won't be able to come close to going to a private university, with Cal Grant I'd already be taking 10,000 in loans every year. This is my time to get help from the state and taxes when I haven't taken anything in all of my thirteen years of education.
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