These Colleges Are Most At Risk From Proposed GOP Cuts To Pell Grants

Forbes

25-06-2025

As part of the huge tax and budget cutting package Republicans are rushing through Congress, they're aiming to reduce Uncle Sam's spending on college aid by more than $300 billion over the next decade, primarily by overhauling student loans, with reduced borrowing limits, stiffer repayment terms and the end of subsidized student loans for lower income undergraduates.
But both the House-passed 2025 budget 'reconciliation' bill and the Trump Administration's 2026 budget proposal, would also take a chunk out of Pell Grants for low and moderate income students. These half century old awards, which don't need to be repaid, make a big difference in whether students from families of modest means enroll in and finish college, their supporters say.
Under current policy, Pell Grants of up to $7,395 will be awarded to 7.4 million students during the 2025-26 school year, at a cost of $38.1 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects. The Trump Administration, in a fiscal 2026 budget proposal submitted this month, calls for chopping the maximum award for the 2026-2027 school year to just $5,710, arguing that this 23% cut (even bigger if inflation is taken into account) is needed to combat a projected funding shortfall.
'To see a cut that's almost $2,000 in scope could really be very detrimental to these institutions that are a lifeline for access and completion for low-income students,' says Jen Engle, the director of policy and strategy at Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce.
Although Pell Grants play a big role in the budgets of two-year community colleges, they're also crucial to a surprising collection of small four-year institutions. We identified 36 four-year schools where Pell aid made up at least 25% percent of total revenue in 2022-23, the last year for which federal data is available. This list is dominated by colleges in Puerto Rico and religious-affiliated schools, primarily Orthodox Jewish schools in New York. Surprisingly, none is one of the nation's Historical Black Colleges and Universities, even though more than 70% of HBCU students are eligible for at least some Pell Grant money.
The top six on our list–three in Puerto Rico and three in New York–relied on Pell Grants for more than half their revenue, with 75% to 95% of their students receiving the aid. None of the six responded to our requests for comment, but it's no mystery why so many of their students get Pell Grants. The median family income in Puerto Rico in 2023 was just $25,621, compared to a national median of $77,719. The Jewish students qualify because they come from unusually large Ultra-Orthodox families. Currently, children from two-parent families with income of up to 175% of the poverty level can qualify for the maximum Pell Grants, while those from families earning up to 275% of the poverty level can get at least some Pell aid. The poverty level, of course, climbs with family size. So this past school year, a family with four or more dependent children could have income in excess of $100,000 and still qualify for some Pell money.
While those small private schools are the most Pell dependent, we crunched the same government data to identify the 40 four-year colleges who received the most Pell dollars—more than $50 million each—in 2022-2023. Thirty-six of them are public colleges, with 14 from California, nine from Texas and four from Florida. The Biggest Pell Recipients These 40 four-year colleges, 36 of them public schools, collected $50 million or more in Pell Grant money in 2022-2023.
The top Pell Grant recipient, however, was private Southern New Hampshire University, with $207 million, or 16% of its revenue from Pell Grants. In large part, that's due to the school's extensive online enrollment—nearly 140,000. Just one school is on both our most Pell dependent and most Pell dollars lists; Brigham Young University-Idaho got $77 million, or 30% of its revenue, from Pell Grants in 2022-2023.
Among other changes, the House-passed reconciliation bill—now officially dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) to reflect Trump's branding of it—narrows Pell Grant eligibility in ways that would reduce grants for more than half of recipients, while saving about $7.1 billion over the next decade, the CBO figures, (In fact, that's only part of what the changes would ultimately save, because of the complicated way these grants are funded, with both mandatory spending and annual discretionary appropriations. The current maximum award for the discretionary component of the grant is $6,335, with a $1,060 mandatory add-on. The $7.1 billion, the CBO says, includes only savings to the mandatory add-on.)
One change would eliminate smaller, pro-rated Pell Grants for students who attend less than half time. They now make up about 10% of all recipients and the CBO estimates only a third would boost their hours enough to stay eligible, while the rest would lose out completely. The new half-time requirement would be particularly hard on adult students who also work full time and attend either community colleges or universities' 'continuing education' schools, which typically offer courses in the evenings, or online. At the College of Continuing Professional Studies at private non-profit Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, 59% of students get Pell money. The school offers both four-year and two-year degrees, including practical associate degrees in business administration and paralegal studies.
'This will have an echo effect, a snowball effect rolling downhill on workforce development, things that we as a country, as a community, the state of Missouri, everybody wants to accomplish,' says Drury University President Jeff Frederick.
It's notable that at the same time that the House-passed bill makes it tougher for working adults to pursue a two- or four-year degree or a certificate, it creates a new 'workforce Pell Grant' for eight to 15 week career training programs which wouldn't have to be taken at an accredited institution. That change would be a particular boon to for-profit schools.
The House bill also raises the required course load for a student to receive the maximum Pell Grant from a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester (typically four courses) to 30 credit hours per year, meaning a five-course load. That change alone would potentially reduce grants to more than half of Pell recipients, the CBO says.
Kim Cook, CEO of the National College Attainment Network, says the increased course load requirement could leave both students and administrators to make tough choices. 'Could they carry that (extra class) with their workload, with their family load, with their caregiving responsibilities, and could they do that well and maintain satisfactory academic progress?'
Some colleges are considering how to help their students adjust. California State Polytechnic University-Pomona reviewed the 48% of its undergraduates who get Pell Grants and found many take between 12 and 14 credits a semester, says Jessica Wagoner, senior associate vice president for enrollment management and services. The school isn't structured to offer one or two credit classes, but is discussing what it could add as a 'temporary solution,'' she says.
But the school isn't rushing to make changes. While the Senate has yet to pass its version of reconciliation, the draft plan released by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee wouldn't raise the course load requirements for maximum Pell Grants, or cut off those going to school less than half time. The Senate would also allocate more money to cover the budget shortfall—the one the Trump Administration has used as its reason to slash grants. It allocates $10.5 billion in additional funding for fiscal year 2026, compared to $10.5 billion in the House passed bill to cover three fiscal years—2026-2028. The Senate would also go easier on the wealthiest schools, raising the tax on their endowments by less than the House passed bill would.
Ultimately, the thin Republican majorities in the House and Senate need to pass identical reconciliation bills—all without any Democratic votes.
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