UC Gets Good PR on Enrollment of Pell Grant/Low-Income Students

UC boosts ranks of low-income students: Officials cite financial aid, with a record high 39% of undergraduates getting federal Pell grants (excerpt)

By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2010

The University of California, sensitive to criticism about student fee hikes, reported Friday that more low-income undergraduates than ever are enrolling at its campuses and said financial aid is helping them to stay.

An estimated 70,000 UC undergraduates are receiving federal Pell grants, which typically are awarded to students with family incomes below $50,000. According to the report, that is the largest number in UC history and represents 39% of its undergraduates, up from 35% last year.

UC President Mark G. Yudof acknowledged Friday that some of the 5,000 additional Pell recipients at the university this year could be attributed to unemployment pushing family incomes down and to rule changes that have raised the income ceilings for Pell eligibility. However, he stressed that federal, state and UC financial aid is protecting lower-income students and that enrollment of middle-income students is stable.

Full article at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-20101002,0,7629438.story

The newspaper story is based on this release from UCOP: http://bit.ly/bk01TK