Students wary of Romney’s pledge to expand Pell grants

Some members of the Boston University community said they do not consider Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s support of expanding Pell grants to be substantial.

“There will be compromises all over the place,” said political science professor Christine Rossell. “At this point it’s just an illusion. It’s all just talk.”

Romney said during the second presidential debate Tuesday night that he wants the federal Pell grant program to continue growing.

The Pell grant is awarded to undergraduate students who have an extreme need of financial aid and do not have to be repaid, according to the U.S. Department of Education website.

The maximum Pell grant award for the 2011–12 academic year was set at $5,550 and depends on factors such as cost of attendance and status as a full- or part-time student.

Rossell said both presidential candidates believe they have more control over policies concerning grants than they actually do, and promises will be checked by balanced powers.

“They’re not the ones who have the power to do that [expand Pell grants],” she said. “They can initiate legislation, they can veto legislation, but they have to get the approval of Congress, and they act as if it’s just them.”

Political science professor David Glick said Pell grants are not a key issue for the upcoming election.

“As an actual policy issue, I don’t think too many people are explicitly voting on Pell grants,” he said. “Generally, older people tend to vote more, and college students tend not to vote as much.”

However, Rossell said due to the lack of jobs available to college graduates, it would not be wrong to dissuade some students from attending college.

“I think American politicians in general are just deluded about the importance of college, and it’s a huge mistake,” she said. “There are lots of entry-level jobs that don’t require a college degree — you just wasted four years and a huge amount of debt.”

About 9.3 million students received the Pell grant nationwide for the 2010–11 academic year, with an average reward of $3,833, according to Department of Education statistics.

Since 2008, the U.S. government has increased Pell grant spending by $6 billion and the number of recipients by 3 million, according to the Department of Education statistics.

BU spokesman Colin Riley said in a phone interview that a small number of BU students receive Pell grants, and these grants are a minor aid.

“If students are receiving the Pell grant, that means they’re also getting a much larger institutional grant five or six times as high,” he said. “It’s a very small component of the financial aid package.”

Riley said in an email that 2,769 BU students received Pell grants with an average award of $3,955 for the 2011–12 academic year, while 8,577 students received BU scholarships with an average award of $22,125.

While the Pell grant can be effective at assisting students who attend public institutions, the award is not large enough to make a substantial difference at a private university such as BU, Riley said.

A number of students said they are hesitant to believe Romney’s support.

“That’s a good thing if he’ll really do it [increase Pell grant funding], but a lot of times people say they’ll do things and they don’t,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Vincent Sinatra. “Mitt changes his mind all the time.”

Sinatra said while education was important, it should not be a central focus of the election.

“We have a lot of problems in this country so I don’t think the election should focus on that [grants and education],” he said.

Milen Ghirmazghi, a CAS junior, said she receives a Pell grant and that they are an important part of her financial aid package.

“The Pell grant is hugely important to me because it’s free money,” she said. “It’s the government’s way of cutting out the middle men, of cutting out the banks who charge us ridiculous interests on our loans. It definitely cuts out a major chunk of money that I would owe the school if I didn’t receive it.”

CAS junior Allison Macika said it is important to support students who want to attend college but cannot afford it.

“There are a lot of people who can’t afford [college], so I think it’s very important that everybody has access to getting an education,” she said.

College of Communication senior Danielle King said she is pleased with Romney’s support.

“As a student who is basically at BU because of federal funding, I appreciate that,” she said. “I kind of think of [Romney] in another light now that he’s advocating for something that directly affects me.”