Private Colleges' Turn to Cry

February 19, 2014
  • Industry News

In recent years, budget cuts forced California public colleges to turn away hundreds of thousands of students. This year, it's the state's private colleges that are now fretting about the public coffers.

Private college leaders and the head of the state's financial aid agency are worried about the reduced buying power of the publicly-financed Cal Grant. The scholarship program provides about $1.6 billion a year in aid to 394,000 Californians, including 33,000 private college students.

While the Cal Grant has remained frozen for students going to California's four-year public colleges, where tuition fees are frozen, the maximum payout to students attending privates is decreasing. This fall, the scholarship award will fall by $1,000 to about $8,100 a year for student at a California private college.

Read more at Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/17/california-private-colleges-worry-about-cuts-state-funded-cal-grant