UCLA enrolls more low-income students than any other top-ranked
public or private university in the country, according to a new
national study.
The study was conducted by Tom Mortenson of Postsecondary
Education Opportunity, a national newsletter on access to higher
education and found that 35.1 percent of students enrolled at UCLA
qualify for Pell Grants.
Pell Grant recipients come from low-income families that usually
earn less than $35,000 per year.
University of California undergraduate campuses occupied the top
six positions for enrollment of low-income students, according to
the study.
UC Berkeley was ranked second in the study, with 32.4 percent of
students qualifying for Pell Grants, followed by UC Irvine with
31.5 percent, UC Davis with 28.5 percent, UC San Diego with 28.3
percent and UC Santa Barbara with 24.8 percent.
UC campuses at Riverside and Santa Cruz also have a high
low-income student enrollment based on an independent UC analysis,
with 40.9 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively. The two
universities were not included in the study because they were not
in the top 50 national universities ranked by U.S. News and World
Report.
The UC system currently enrolls nearly 50,000 students who
receive Pell Grants. UCLA enrolls about 9,000 of them.
But the high figure of low-income student enrollment could be in
jeopardy, with the state cutting Cal Grant funding because of the
budget deficit and the national Pell Grant program facing a
potential budget shortfall.
The Bush administration’s budget proposal earlier this
year included an $856 million increase in Pell Grant funding, but
this may not be sufficient to keep up with recent increases in Pell
Grant applicants and university costs.
According to the president’s budget proposal, the increase
in the number of applicants and lack of funding will create a
funding shortfall of $3.7 billion by 2005. This will cause the
average individual Pell Grant award to decrease $42 from 2004,
putting it at $2,399.
Allende Palma/Saracho, internal vice president of the
Undergraduate Students Association Council, said the cuts in grants
will directly affect low-income students and their access to higher
education.
“If you cut Pell Grants, you limit access and you cut
diversity at the university,” he said.
The maximum Pell Grant award has remained stagnant for several
years at $4,050.
To keep up with increasing tuition and education costs, the Pell
Grant award should be about $6,000, said Ronald Johnson, director
of financial aid at UCLA, in an interview with the Daily Bruin in
February.