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A Question of ACCESS: Merit- and Need-Based Aid in Our Colleges and Universities ACCESS and Tufts University host inaugural forum in series of discussions addressing the college access gap.
Boston – February 29, 2008 - The Action Center for Educational Services and Scholarship (ACCESS) and Tufts University hosted a moderated discussion today featuring a panel of experts who explored how public and private institutions of higher education are dealing with the difficult balancing act between merit- and need-based aid and how it affects students and academic institutions. “This issue is of primary importance for students, families, schools and state governments as we enter the height of the financial aid season. The shift towards merit-based financial aid at the expense of need-based aid is one of the most pressing issues in our universities and colleges today – and one that has left many impoverished families receiving less financial aid than the most privileged students,” said Bob Giannino-Racine, executive director of ACCESS. “We have a responsibility to all of our young people to ensure they are able to not only get accepted to college but also to actually attend, and one of the only ways to ensure opportunity for a new generation of young people is to make a real commitment to financial aid for those with the greatest need -- not the highest test scores.” ACCESS, a not-for-profit group based in Boston, provides financial aid advising and scholarships to thousands of students in every Boston Public High School and beyond. ACCESS helps students who are academically prepared for college, but lack the financial resources necessary to make their educational dreams a reality. Last year ACCESS financial aid advisors, working on an individual basis with 88 percent of Boston public high school seniors, helped leverage a record-breaking $26 million in financial aid for Boston’s college-bound students. This represents a $12 million increase over the previous year. Due to the large gap in education quality – higher scores, more test preparation, availability of advanced placement classes – students from wealthier school districts are capturing merit scholarships at a disproportionate rate, as their counterparts from lower income school districts are left to compete for a dwindling amount of need-based financial aid. “I am very concerned when scarce financial aid resources go not to those who need them most, but rather to those who would attend college in any case,” said Lawrence S. Bacow, President of Tufts University. “I think we need to re-focus our attention on those students whose need is greatest, helping expand their access to higher education and their opportunity to achieve their potential. Higher education has made the American dream a reality for millions. We need to maintain that great national tradition.” The forum was the first in a new series of events – the ACCESS Forums on College Affordability – that will bring together educators, policy makers, and business and community leaders to address the challenges all face in ensuring access to higher education for a new generation.
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