| We routinely connect well-performing high-school students living in poverty to financial aid—so they can attend and complete college. However, we found that funding gaps often pose insurmountable obstacles for these children. A child who gets accepted to a four-year degree program costing $55,000/year, may qualify for government aid, incentives and student loans totaling 90% of those costs. This still leaves $5,000 per year ($20,000 over the course of the program) that the child’s family is unable to come up with. Typically, that’s the portion of the expense described by the college as “Materials and Out of Pocket Costs” in their financial proposal. If students cannot find the money needed to pay for books, equipment and transportation—the things usually included in this expense category—they will not be able to participate in class, even if their tuition is covered by government grants and loans. |