By Jordan Cook
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Federal grants support many colleges in Maryland (Source). These grants supply financial aid and allocate money to research programs. Federal grant money can also help a university meet unique needs it may have. When grants are frozen, this can become a threat to the stable income a university receives.
“Financially, the cost of college is high, especially with inflation,” says freshman Aiden Taylor, a biology pre-med student at Morgan State University. “Students need grants to have money so they don’t go into debt,” says Taylor.
In 2023, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management published an article titled, The Racial Wealth Gap, Financial Aid, and College Access, describing the importance of financial aid and grant money.
According to the article, the financial aid students request can cover a “broad measure of college costs, including tuition and living expenses. The amount of money a student receives also depends on their university’s cost of attendance.
Though financial aid can be helpful, federal grants are usually more convenient for college students. This is because compared to financial aid, grants don’t have to be paid back.
Jennifer Budelis is an advisor at Harford Community College and a parent of a child who will soon enter college. “You can’t easily get a high school degree as you can an associate if not a bachelor’s degree. It’s the new requirement for jobs that are not entry-level.”
Recently, Budelis has been in the process of supporting her daughter, Grace Budelis, with college enrollment.
High school junior Grace Budelis is part of a dual enrollment program with her community college. Through the TUNE program, she anticipates transferring to Towson University in the future. Her plans may change due to the possibility of federal grants being frozen.
“My future is planned around being able to go to college for free from a Maryland grant. If that grant wasn’t available anymore, I don’t know what I’d do,” says Budelis.
* Headline created and AP error check conducted by Microsoft 365 Copilot