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Solving
Cal Grants age discrimination
Assemblyman
Jerome Horton introduced Assembly Bill (AB)
700 in February. It seeks to eliminate age
discrimination in financial aid.
AB
700 will delete all wording that requires
applicants to file before March 2 after
their high school graduation. This is a
necessary change for the program to fully
accommodate all students in need. The change
is long overdue, and the Cal Grant program
may finally assist all students in need.
Last
year, according to the California State
Student Association, 114,000 students were
denied Cal Grant aid due to their age. Even
if the applicant meets the deadline and
all requirements, their age, if they took
time off after high school before entering
college, stops them from receiving aid.
The program favors younger applicants to
an inexcusable degree.
This
is not the way the Cal Grant program should
work. Financial aid exists to help students
afford college on an as-needed basis. It
should not matter how old students are,
or whether or not they take time off after
high school. Financial aid should help anyone
who wants a full education. Older students
should not have to jump hurdles to afford
a good education. AB 700 will get rid of
that distinction.
Part
of the Cal Grant is the entitlement program,
which goes to all students who meet the
deadline and need the aid to attend school.
The very sneaky catch in this plan is that
students must apply within 18 months of
graduating high school. It is entirely unfair,
not to mention misleading, to withhold money
from people just because they took a break
from school before attending college.
Anyone
who wants to go to college should not have
to postpone their immediate plans such as
traveling, starting a family, working or
just taking time away from school. We have
been going since we were five years old;
it is easy to understand wanting a year
or longer to relax from the pressures of
school before going back for a degree.
The
way the program is currently structured,
even if financial need is there, these people
cannot receive financial aid. This puts
school out of reach for many.
Those
over 21 are put into a smaller aid program
called the Competitive Grant Program, according
to the California State Student Association.
This program has less money and less of
a chance to receive aid, with only 16 percent
of applicants receiving the financial help
they need.
People
over 21 generally do not have the help of
their parents and must rely entirely on
themselves for finances. Some may have just
realized they need a degree. The Cal Grant
program should be awarding, not denying,
help to reach their academic goals.
Assemblyman
Horton should be praised for noticing that
discrimination exists within the Cal Grant
system and working to make the necessary
changes.
Students
applying for the grant this year, if the
amendments are passed, will not have to
worry about their age stopping them from
going to college.
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