Detroit Students Fight To Keep Pell Grants
DETROIT (WWJ) - U.S. Senator Carl Levin was Detroit, Tuesday to meet with financial aid officials from several colleges and universities, as well as students who use the threatened federal Pell grant program.
One of those students, Abigail Cosgriff , a junior at Wayne State University, said she relies heavily on Pell grants. Without them she says she wouldn't be able to afford school.
"I would probably stop going to school for a few years, if not completely... I'd spend so much time saving up the money, by that point, I wouldn't know whether it would be worth
Cosgriff said she earns less than $5,000 a year in her part-time job; nowhere near enough to cover bills and school.
Another student, 21-year old Arslan Gondal, an Electrical Engineering major at WSU said he had hoped to graduate in a year. Without the Pell grant, he'd have to get a full time job and go to school part-time.
"If I'm working full time and, you know, going to school...which do I focus on? It kind of, you know, diverts your attention. If you're working part time and you're going to school, you know that I've got to focus on my schoolwork," he said.