Pell Grants Need Greater Budget to Cover Increasing Student Costs

Sen. Russ Feingold

Daily Cardinal

In many ways, higher education has changed for the better since I made my way up Bascom Hill for classes more than 30 years ago. At UW-Madison there is more world-renowned research being done than ever before, not to mention the dramatic increase we have seen in Badger football’s winning percentage.

But one aspect of attending college—in Wisconsin, and across the country—has changed for the worse: the burden on students to scrap together enough funds for an education.

When I received my undergrad diploma from UW-Madison in 1975, the maximum Pell Grant award covered approximately 80 percent of the cost of attending a four-year public college. Now, the maximum Pell Grant award only covers approximately 33 percent of those costs.I