The Realities of Financial Aid

National Public Radio recently aired this story about how the financial realities of the college admissions process work against low-income students.

The key takeaway for me was a statement by Georgia Nugent, former president of Kenyon College:

“Let’s say that your full tuition at your college is $20,000. So you could take $15,000 of your financial aid and offer it to one quite needy student. Or, you could take your same amount of resources and you could offer $5,000 in financial aid to three affluent students. So, in terms of the college’s revenue, offering the large package to the single student nets $5,000 for the college. Offering the small sweetener to the affluent student nets the college $45,000.”