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Map grant apps drop 13 percent

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Illinois

* The squeeze the beast strategy appears to be working, unfortunately…

Thousand of Illinois students apparently don’t want to risk the state’s MAP grant delays and disappointments.

New numbers from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission show a 13 percent drop in Monetary Assistance Program applications this year.

“It’s unprecedented,” said Jim Applegate, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education. “That’s thousands and thousands fewer MAP students who’ll be going to our two-year colleges, four-year public (universities), and private colleges as well.”

New applications are down about 13-percent down from the 320-thousand students that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission said were eligible for a MAP grant last year.

The real question here is how many of those kids from poverty-stricken families have given up and decided not to attend any college now.

Ugh.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:25 am

Comments

This bodes well for Illinois’ economic future. snark\

Thanks Governor Businessman.

Comment by Sir Reel Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:28 am
Early education and supporting those ideas mean nothing in underprivileged households when college is not possible.

Helping kids being early with their education for the underprivileged will now just be a beginning of a sad joke with the punchline being “too bad, so sad”(?)

Right? Exactly right.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:30 am
and their children will not attend Illinois Universities and so on and so on….

Comment by Saluki Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:30 am
If we deny poor kids the opportunity to go to college, the state saves money and they’ll be more inclined to take the low wage jobs offered by right-to-work shops. This is Gov. Rauner’s idealized version of the future of Illinois.

Comment by Dance Band on the Titanic Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:32 am
Educated workforce = asset!

13% diminishment of that asset?

Our vulture capitalist gov is winning by further diminishing the value of the state.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:36 am
It’s bad even for those that applied for the grant. I heard local colleges and many universities are planning to refuse these students if MAP isn’t funded.

Dance - Spot on!

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:36 am
Keep in mind that even when MAP was “fully funded” there was a waiting list of well over 100,000 individuals.

So it’s not like the state saves money. Just fewer people probably even trying to attend college with an even bleaker outlook on being able to afford it.

Comment by Juice Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:40 am
Next year too apparently.

#winnning

#heroic

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:42 am
More savin’ Illinois from the worst Governor ever!

Comment by Delbert Grady Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:44 am
It’s worth watching to see if Community College enrollment increases because of this. Some kids did opt for a 4 year instead because of the MAP. This is worth watching closely. There may be some MAP improvements that truly help the most needy as a result of this. I hope so.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:45 am
Illinois version of Scott’s Tot’s. Here’s something to help you accomplish your goals….Oh, sorry we can’t help you now. Maybe we could give out batteries instead.

Comment by sonny chiss Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:48 am
===There may be some MAP improvements that truly help the most needy as a result of this.===

Such as? How does eliminating MAP grants help the most needy?

You are aware that MAP grants are used by community college students too, right? So when the number of applicants falls by 13%, I don’t think it’ll have a positive impact on cc enrollment.

Here’s a friendly tip: it’s OK if you don’t leave a comment on every single thread here, especially if you don’t know anything about the topic.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:52 am
@fakeBruceRauner Good! More burger-flippers makes it easier to hold down wages!

Comment by PublicServant Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:56 am
There are worker shortages for many minimum wage employers in Illinois. These shortages will grow in the future if right to work/race to the bottom is implemented. Rauner is doing something about that. Rauner is helping insure that Illinois minimum wage employers will have plenty of applicants to choose from./s

Comment by DuPage Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:58 am
Well, the world needs ditch-diggers too.

Comment by SAP Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 11:58 am
It’s ok because according to Ron Sandack, “The sun will still come up tomorrow.” Good thing he already has his college education, though.

Comment by Michael Westen Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:00 pm
This is so sad, and predictable. Education is the most reliable pathway to economic security for almost everyone except those born to people like Trump and Rauner. For the rest of us, even those of us who are solidly upper middle class, we need some kind of education to be employable and make a decent living. For these kids and families not pursuing the MAP grants, it makes sense what they are doing in the short term, but in the long term, we all suffer when people cannot achieve their potential.

Every day this goes on — every single day — this hurts us, it hurts our communities, and it hurts our state. Even if there were a budget agreement tomorrow, we will not have recovered from the impact of this impasse by the time Rauner ends his term. That will be his legacy.

Comment by Pawn Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:01 pm
GUY: You continually parrot the Guv and egg him on in this state’s destruction, while giving us the PollyAnna “hope so”s and the “happy they re-opened the Museum” b-shoot. Grow up Man!

Comment by Undeterred Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:01 pm
Yu don’t have to be kids from poverty stricken families to really need at least some funding from MAP. Many lower middle class and even middle class families are not rolling in enough dough to finance the ever escalating costs of even the public universities whose tuitions have skyrocketed in the last ten years.

Comment by Federalist Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:02 pm
=I heard local colleges and many universities are planning to refuse these students if MAP isn’t funded.=
Universities are not refusing students who apply or are MAP eligible. Some, maybe most public universities in Illinois may not cover the MAP grants as they did last year.

It will take years if not decades for the Universities to recover from this lack of state support and will have long-term consequences for Illinois. #WINNING

Comment by Because I said so.... Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:03 pm
Just did the math — 13% of 320,000 is 41,600 students. Wow. Just wow.

We are writing off a generation of kids.

Comment by Pawn Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:03 pm
You mean writing off a generation of kids isn’t an acceptable price to be paid because you can’t get term limits right now? Hey, sacrifices must be made, mister! Get that straight.

Comment by Michael Westen Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:05 pm
===the ever escalating costs of even the public universities whose tuitions have skyrocketed in the last ten years===

To make up for the dramatically decreasing state support in the last ten years.

Comment by PublicServant Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:17 pm
===Here’s a friendly tip: it’s OK if you don’t leave a comment on every single thread here, especially if you don’t know anything about the topic.===

Here’s a less friendly response. It’s ok if you keep your myopic assumptions to yourself. I do know plenty about MAP grants. I do know that they are “under utilized” at community colleges. I know a bit about those too. Sorry to bore you. I find your comments usually lacking, but hey…it’s ok if you post whenever you want. /s

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:29 pm
== Undeterred - Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:01 pm:

GUY: You continually parrot the Guv and egg him on in this state’s destruction===

We see things differently. In your world, everything is the Governor’s fault. We don’t agree. The destruction has already occurred in many cases. Sorry I don’t jive with your meme, dude.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:36 pm
===I do know that they are “under utilized” at community colleges.===

Did you ever wonder why? Care to take a guess?

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:41 pm
Another win for Rauner. When you want to do away with public assets this is the way to do it.

Comment by Dr X Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 12:46 pm
We’ve long been told that the conservative approach to fighting poverty is to reject handouts in favor of a hand up, that we need to provide assistance to the poor that gives them the ability to help themselves. Need based higher education grants are pretty much the bedrock of this approach. So why are conservatives championing the starve the beast approach to need based higher education grants? This isn’t a conservative approach to fighting poverty, this is a naked war on the poor.

Comment by The Captain Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 1:11 pm
To the unfortunately vicious (and content-free) thread on MAP underutilization. My understanding is that MAP grants are “underutilized” at some community colleges and universities because MAP funding runs out before many of their students apply for grants. First-generation college students and other underrepresented students often aren’t savvy enough to apply early enough to get funded, even though many are qualified and would be funded if the state actually provided enough money. Those 100,000 students who qualify for MAP grants but don’t receive them aren’t at UIUC or Northwestern, by and large. So often the students needing the most help get the least.

This was even before the cuts. Given the decline in applications, I suppose Illinois could fund a slightly higher proportion of qualified MAP grant applicants this year–*if* the state suddenly decided, now, to fund them at the FY 15 level.

Comment by Doc Anonymous Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 1:30 pm
===I do know that they are “under utilized” at community colleges.===

Answering for A Guy…

Unfortunately many community college students do not apply for MAP because they make last minute decisions to attend. By the time they apply/enroll, the money is gone.

I don’t see how the decline in MAP application will help CC’s. Many will chose to just not go to school. What’s taking place is shameful and extremely short sighted.

Comment by Because I said so.... Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 1:30 pm
Finally some good budgetary news.

Comment by Ron Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 1:39 pm
How do you get to this…..

–It’s worth watching to see if Community College enrollment increases because of this.–

based on this….?

–“It’s unprecedented,” said Jim Applegate, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education. “That’s thousands and thousands fewer MAP students who’ll be going to our two-year colleges, four-year public (universities), and private colleges as well.”–

I’m quite certain “thousands and thousands fewer MAP students who’ll be going to our two-year colleges,” does not signify an increase of MAP students going to community college.

Guy, did you lose a bet today or something? Are you really posting this stuff by your own free will?

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 2:00 pm
===I do know plenty about MAP grants.===

And the Kennedy family. Lol.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 2:12 pm
BTW, at my local community college there’s talk of laying off 50 professors before fall because of declining enrollment and lack of state funding.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 2:16 pm
Why waste your time applying for the grant if you know it is never going to be awarded. Given last year’s experience, it is a waste of time.

Comment by Huh? Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 3:30 pm
Why should West Virginia always be stuck with the lowest percentage of individuals with a college degree? If we replace West Virginia, couldn’t we rename the state Northwest Virginia? It might help us eliminate our debt too, seeing as Illinois would no longer exist.

Comment by AC Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 4:01 pm
Bruce Rauner on June 12, 2014:

“I’ve been successful at everything I’ve ever done.”

Raise a glass to Bruce for killing the dreams and economic future of thousands!

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 5:00 pm
AC, I think righttoworkistan might be more appropriate in this case. Let’s follow the Cass example.

Comment by Jorge Thursday, Jun 16, 16 @ 7:47 pm