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 The 2012 budget of President Obama offers a nice balancing act to the advocates of higher education. While protecting the program of Pell Grant, the Obama administration is going to make other changes to student aid. Due to this some students from the low income families may have to pay more amounts next year. 

In the past two years Pell has grown tremendously due to better participation in this program and increase of the amount of grant during the recession. According to reports of the Education Department the amount of grants has risen from six million to 9.6 million between 2008 and 2010. This has happened as more number of young adults gave up job for college.

For maintaining the present amount of maximum grant at 5550 dollars and meeting the demand, the administration will eliminate the in-school subsidies of Stafford loan for the graduate students. It will also eliminate the policy of offering the undergraduates, who are enrolling, with another Pell Grant. Rich Williams who is an advocate of higher education despite the proposal of tough choices, the Obama administration is trying to keep the Pell Grant reasonable for lots of students who depend on it to pay their college fees. He also said that something should be done for sustaining this program in a long term basis.

It has also been said that these proposed changes will definitely impact the students in a negative way. The program of Pell grant is the main tool of the federal government to provide the low income families with the required aid so that they can be capable of sending their children to the colleges. It has been proposed by the Republicans in the House of Representatives to slash the budget of the program by 15 % in the coming year. This can decrease the maximum grant of Pell by almost $845.

According to the college officials, the state that can be hit hard is West Virginia. This is because over forty percent of the college students in the state are eligible for the Pell Grant. Due to the scarcity of the summer jobs, lots of undergraduates are joining colleges. Some advocates of higher education are surprised by the recommendations of the administration. The education committee of the House of Representative is now controlled by the Republicans and they have said that they are open for any kind of changes in the policy of the Pell Grant.

The Obama administration will also save money if they stop the in-school subsidy for the graduate students. With the help of this subsidy the students from the low income families can avail the federal loans without any interest. According to the Department of Education, there is little effect of these subsidies on whether a student pursues the graduate school. The subsidy for graduates has been targeted by the budget cutters in the recent times. The Council of the graduate schools expressed their concern over this plan as it will have devastating effect on the students.