Lack Of Grant Aid Keeps Low-Income Students From College: Report: A new report details how students from low- and middle-income families are having difficulty going to, and succeeding at, four-year colleges because of lack of grant aid.The report, authored by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance and titled 'The Rising Price of Inequality,' found that as the price of college has risen, the number of students from low- and middle-income families has fallen.
Some key points from the report:
* College enrollment rates of low-income students fell from 54 percent in 1992 to 40 percent in 2004. For middle-income students, enrollment rates dropped from 59 percent to 53 percent.
* 62 percent of low-income parents rated college expenses as 'very important' in 2004, as compared with 49 percent in 1992. In 2004, 17 percent of high-income parents rated college expenses as 'very important.
* 75 percent of low-income students in college persist four years or more, down from 78 percent.
