Rural students get greatest share of Pell grants

Researchers from several universities have debunked a myth that most Pell grants for college tuition go to minority students attending urban schools, the Daily Yonder reports. Iowa State University researcher Linda Hagedorn said data show "a plurality of grants go to rural students." A report about the data states most Pell money is helping rural students attend community college. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, community colleges added about 600,000 students between 2001 and 2008; 255,038 of those attended a rural college. The 574 rural institutions have 3.3 million students.

Rural colleges in red/pink, urban in blue, tribal in green (Click map for larger version)

Rural students make up 33 percent of all community-college students and use 39 percent of Pell grant money. Several factors contribute to the high participation rate, including high transportation costs and greater child-care expense. Rural students are also more likely to go into debt as a result of attending community college. Use of Pell grants in rural places may be overlooked because it isn't widely realized that six out of 10 community colleges serve rural areas.

A House Republican proposal last year would have reduced to $3,150 from $5,550 the maximum grant from the program, named for former Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I. Community-college directors told researchers that such a reduction in grants would lower enrollment in their states. University of Alabama researcher Stephen G. Katsinas said "Pell is the single most important human-resource development program for adults in America." (Read more)