Twenty colleges and universities got the approval of the Obama administration. These schools are helping low-income students go to college.
Students who received grants composed the large percentage of students who are outperforming their peers in both enrolling and graduating, according to a report from the Department of Education which was released on Thursday.
Pell Grant is federal-provided money given to low-income students so they can pay for their college. Forty percent of the students enrolled and 50 percent of those who graduated over six years are Pell Grant recipients, as reported by Market Watch.
The reported public schools are mainly regional public colleges and many of the private schools that are highlighted are historically black colleges and universities, women's colleges or schools affiliated with Christian organizations.
The schools are doing a lot of ways to help low-income students, which include providing micro-grants to students who will likely drop out due to lack of funding. They are also creating living-earning communities that can help the students over until they graduated from college.
The Department of Education's report was released to highlight schools that have ways to attract low-income students and help them get through college, officials said. Although college is crucial for economic mobility, students from poor families are three times less likely to go to college compared to their wealthier students. Wealthier students, too, are most likely to graduate compared to poor students.
"Many colleges and universities have taken important steps to make college a reality for low income students, but unfortunately today those success stories are the exception-they ought to be the rule," said Education Secretary John B. King, as reported by Pro Publica.
"There are far too many barriers preventing far too many low-income students from enrolling in and graduating from college," he added.
