Starting next year, up to 3,400 undergraduate students in Mississippi — including hundreds in the Golden Triangle — could lose $500 to $1,000 in state grant money that would otherwise help pay for textbooks and other academic necessities.
To alleviate budget concerns, the Legislature passed an appropriations bill that would prevent students from “stacking grants” or receiving more than one state grant, saving the state about $2 million per year, according to Jennifer Rogers, director of the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid.
The changes may mean students have to turn to private scholarships and loans to afford college, she added.
“Certainly, affordability is an issue that every college student is concerned with,” she said. “We don’t ever want to make college less affordable for any student. Certainly, there will be students who have to find other ways to pay for the gap that … is created.”
The grants
Though undergraduates who are Mississippi residents can apply for up to 15 state-funded grants for college, three are the most commonly used and stacked.
Among them is the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG), which gives $500 to $1,000 to Mississippi residents with a minimum of 15 on the ACT and a 2.5 grade point average, Rogers said. MTAG students also come from families who receive less than full Federal Pell Grant.
Right now, eligible students receive MTAG even if they also receive the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Award — a $2,500 award for state residents with at least a 29 on the ACT and 3.5 GPA — or the Higher Education Plan for Needy Students (HELP) grant — an award giving full tuition to residents of Mississippi from low-income families as long as they have a 20 minimum composite score on the ACT and 2.5 GPA.
But if the governor signs the new appropriations bill, those students will only receive the grant that awards them the most money, meaning they will lose hundreds of dollars in MTAG.
Possible impact
There’s no way of knowing right now how many students would be affected going into the 2017-18 school year.
At Mississippi State University, more than 4,700 students have received more than $3 million in MTAG money total this year, Financial Aid director Paul McKinney said. Thousands of those students each year have been eligible for another grant on top of MTAG, he said.
“We’re going to comply with state directives, but I have some concerns on the impact these changes are going to have on our students and their access to higher education,” McKinney said.
The cost of textbooks alone is about $600 per year for students at MSU, he said. MTAG funds could also be used for tuition, room and board and other academic-related costs, which run more than $17,000 for four years, he added.
The impact is obviously smaller at institutions with fewer students. Less than 50 students already attending Mississippi University for Women receive anther grant on top of MTAG, said Anika Perkins, associate director of university relations. At East Mississippi Community College this semester, 44 students received MTAG and one of the other grants, according to Vice President for Financial Aid James Gibson.
“Two hundred and fifty dollars (per semester) is a lot of money to many of our students,” Gibson said.
Rogers said the number of students affected statewide could grow because more students apply for grants each year.
“We certainly see increases in the number of students applying for and qualifying for the HELP grant,” she said. “The numbers of students applying for and receiving the Eminent Scholars grant are fairly stable. They increase about 1 to 2 percent each year.”
Still, none of the institutions indicated concern about fewer students applying for college, and Rogers said she didn’t expect to see changes in enrollment.
“The Legislature has worked with us to carefully pursue the options that would impact the fewest number of students,” she said. “I do believe there is a collective goal in the state to preserve student financial aid and to encourage students to complete a college degree in the state.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
