Federal student aid is essential to many students’ and their families’ ability to attend college.
However, the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal from the Trump administration proposes drastic cuts to funding for higher education, including a reduction in the maximum federal Pell Grant award from $7,395 to $5,710 annually and a reduction in the federal work-study program.
Republicans in the U.S. Congress are hoping to pass a historic tax and spending bill, which the proposed cuts would help finance.
Pell Grants, a form of federal assistance available to low-income families who prove financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, are used by about 40% of undergraduate students.
“The money we invest in post-high school education isn’t charity — it helps Americans get good jobs, start businesses, and contribute to our economy,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. stated. “No kid’s education should be defunded to pay for giant tax giveaways for billionaires.”
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that practically 75% of all undergraduates receive financial aid of some kind.
According to Lesley Turner, a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an associate professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, “Historically the Pell Grant was viewed as the foundation for financial support for low-income students. It’s the first dollar, regardless of other types of aid you have access to.”
Trump’s plan would lower the maximum Pell Grant for the 2026–2027 school year to its lowest level in over ten years.
“The lowest-income families would be affected by the Pell reduction,” stated Betsy Mayotte, president of the nonprofit organization The Institute of Student Loan Advisors.
According to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, over 92% of Pell Grant recipients in 2019–2020 were from households with household incomes under $60,000.
The potential effects of Pell Grant reductions on college students?
According to Kantrowitz’s own calculations, the average student debt at graduation for those with a bachelor’s degree who received Pell Grants would be roughly $6,500 higher if the president’s cuts were implemented and then continued for four years.
“If adopted, [the proposed cuts] would require millions of enrolled students to drop out or take on more debt to complete their degrees — likely denying countless prospective low- and moderate-income students the opportunity to go to college altogether,” Sameer Gadkaree, president and CEO of The Institute for College Access & Success, stated.
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As the cost of a four-year degree continues to rise, those grants have already fallen short. In the 2024–25 academic year, the average tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college was $58,600, up from $56,390 the previous year.
According to the College Board, the average at four-year, in-state public colleges increased from $24,080 to $24,920.
Every qualified student is eligible to receive a Pell award, just like in other entitlement programs like Social Security or Medicare.
But unlike those other programs, the Pell program is not entirely dependent on federal budget-mandated funding. Instead, it also depends on a certain amount of discretionary money that Congress appropriates.
Because of changes to the financial aid application, more students are now eligible for a Pell Grant, which leads to more students enrolling in college, which is one reason why the Congressional Budget Office predicted a shortfall this year.
