School loans denied - baltimoresun.com: Morgan State University is trying to raise $300,000 in donations by the end of the month to give 300 undergraduates emergency scholarships — the result of tighter lending standards that have hit historically black colleges and universities particularly hard.
The universities blame changes to the Parent PLUS Loans, which allow holders to borrow the full cost of tuition, fees and living expenses. More loans were denied after credit history requirements were made stricter in late 2011.
Those institutions disproportionately serve a low-income population that's less likely to pass the revised credit check, educators and politicians said. Enrollments are expected to drop because of it, along with graduation rates.
The Parent PLUS Loan approval rate at Morgan has dropped 44 percent from last year, Wilson told the university's Board of Regents this week, contributing to an expected 3 percent decrease — 204 students — in undergraduate enrollment there this fall.
Morgan President David Wilson made a last-minute plea to alumni in a letter posted on Morgan's website. The $1,000 scholarships would be for the fall semester.
