Congressional Democrats took a bold step on Wednesday to fulfill their campaign promises: finalizing legislation that would cut the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans in half and provide a major boost to the maximum Pell Grant. The measure, which is expected to be approved in…

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With release of a more than $20 billion higher education budget reconciliation plan that slashes student loan provider subsidies over the next five years and includes a groundbreaking pilot auction program that uses market forces to set student loan subsidy rates, the U.S. Congress moved to dramatically increase student financial aid. This…

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The U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of colleges and universities, "America's Best Colleges 2008," was published last week with typical fanfare. High school students and their parents likely flipped immediately to the "top schools" ranking, where they found-gasp!-that Princeton University earned the top spot…

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Earlier this month we described the challenges many veterans face paying for college, because the GI bill benefits they've earned through military service cover only about 75 percent of the average cost of attendance at a four-year public college or university, yet often make them ineligible for Pell…

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With all the attention paid to student loans of late, there is a risk that policy makers will lose track of an issue of even greater importance for college access for low- and moderate-income students: grants for postsecondary education. Research has long shown that grants, not loans, are the most…

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If you've seen an action film this summer, odds are you've also seen a slick advertisement touting the benefits of joining the Army or Marines-including help paying for college. You won't hear the word "Iraq," and as the Washington Post reported last week, it…

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Financing a college education isn't easy for anybody these days, but it's an especially Herculean task if you're a working-class student living paycheck to paycheck. The obstacles to attending college are high, and the more you have to work to support yourself and your family, the less help…

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Behind the scenes, Congressional Democrats took a bold step this week that should make it significantly easier for them to fulfill their party's campaign pledge to increase significantly federal spending on need-based grant aid for students from low-income families.

After several weeks…

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Financial Aid Directors & Education Dept Official Placed on Administrative Leave

All three financial aid directors under investigation regarding student loan company stock ownership, as identified by the New America Foundation, have been placed…

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House Passes Repeal of "Tuition Sensitivity" Rule for Pell Grants

The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would eliminate a provision in federal law that limits the size of the Pell Grants that students at community colleges can receive.…

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