President Obama Increases Pell Grants to $5500

Just Yesterday President Obama increased Pell Grants to $5500.

April 24, in a speech given on higher education, as transcribed in today's Washington Post, President Obama expressed his support of all students currently waiting to go to college. "It's about whether we want to give tens of billions of tax dollars to special interests or whether we want to make college more affordable for 8.5 million more students. I think most of us would agree on what the right answer is.."

The President continued to say that this is better than backing banks to loan to students. " In the end, this is not about growing the size of government or relying on the free market, because it's not a free market when we have a student loan system that's rigged to reward private lenders without any risk."

President Obama expresses his belief and confidence in our youth, making them a priority in Washington policy. He seeks to rearrange the way money flows in these grant programs to get more funds to the student. " the money we could save by cutting out the middleman would pay for 95 percent of our plan to guarantee growing Pell Grants. This would help ensure that every American, everywhere in this country, can out-compete any worker anywhere in the world."

Lastly, the President chose to encourage colleges to put the concept of utmost affordability in the forefront in the coming years as well. " So I challenge state college and university leaders to put affordability front and center as they chart a path forward. I challenge them to follow the example of the University of Maryland, where they're streamlining administrative costs, cutting energy costs, using faculty more effectively, making it possible for them to freeze tuition for students and for families (......) At the same time, we're also working to modernize and expand the Perkins Loan program by changing a system where colleges are rewarded for raising tuition and instead rewarding them for making college more affordable."

Clearly our President wants our people to get the education that gives the education that can help us reach our potential. " And this will help prevent a projected shortfall in Pell Grant funding in a few years that could rob many of our poor students of their dream of attending college. It will help ensure that Pell Grants are a source of funding that students can count on each and every year."

Click here to find out more about as well as apply for Pell Grants. President Obama believes in our power to make a difference that he has pushed for our education by making increases in grants, keeping costs low in-house to enable the longevity of these grants, and applying pressure where it is due to make things as affordable as possible for us. Let's rise to meet his challenge.