Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently promised to reconsider the dozens of Upward Bound grant applications that were rejected last month for failing to comply with exacting formatting requirements. Shaun Abreu, Amber Moorer, and Congressman Adriano Espaillat warn readers that the fight is not over. Cuts to TRIO funding will hurt students who need the most help applying to colleges and already have been underserved by their high schools that provide an average of 1 college counselor for every 400 students.
Abreu, Moorer, and Espaillant write: "Programs like Upward Bound exist to counteract the countless barriers that keep poor, talented children out of college. Too many of these students find themselves just one missed deadline, financial aid application error or SAT question away from seeing their dream of a formal education slip farther out of their hands. Upward Bound programs offer crucial outreach and counseling services, including increasing academic and financial literacy for students aimed at assisting students during the college application process."
Read the full essay in Inside Higher Ed