Trump Budget Would Mean Higher Costs for 134,000 Massachusetts College Students

BOSTON - Feb. 26, 2020 - PRLog -- The Trump Administration's proposed FY21 budget would mean higher-cost student loans for 134,00 Massachusetts student borrowers, lower levels of financial aid for 119,000 low-income students in the state, and major cuts to local programs that prepare 21,531 low-income students for college each year, according to an analysis by the Hildreth Institute, a non-profit research and policy center dedicated to restoring the promise of higher education as an engine of upward mobility for all.

"The Trump Administration's proposal is out of touch with the college affordability crisis our nation is facing and its larger societal ramifications, from the wellbeing of our economy to national security," said Bahar Akman Imboden, PhD., Managing Director of the Hildreth Institute.

According to an initial analysis by the Hildreth Institute, the Trump Administration's proposed budget would:

• Cut federal student loan programs by $170 billion without offering an alternative financial aid option for low-income students, which prices them out of college or forces them to borrow private loans with high-interest rates.
• End the subsidized federal Stafford Loan, raising borrowing costs for 134,000 MA students who benefit from subsidized federal loans.
• Freeze the maximum Pell Grant for the next decade. Lower levels of grant-based financial aid for 119,000 Massachusetts students who receive Pell Grants each year.
• Eliminate public service loan forgiveness program, which thousands of MA graduates use to follow passions in service to the public with careers in teaching or social work.
• Slash $140 million in funding for TRIO programs that help prepare low-income, first-generation college, and disabled Americans for college success. There are 52 TRIO programs in MA that collectively serve 21,531 low-income students.
• Eliminate the $365 million Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative, which provides 6,300 middle-school and high-school MA students and families with assistance in the college search and application process and more.

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Hildreth Institute (http://hildrethinstitute.org/) is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to restoring the promise of higher education as an engine of upward mobility for all. We believe that all students should be able to obtain a high-quality, zero-debt postsecondary education.

We research, develop, and promote solutions for changes in public policies and institutional financial practices that will reduce costs to students and improve quality. Through partnerships with researchers and policy experts, with politically diverse organizations, with policymakers from both major political parties, and with corporate and community leaders, we will build support for transformative change in higher education financing.