With cuts proposed to the Pell Grant program in the U.S. House of Representatives' budget reconciliation bill—which the House passed in the early morning hours of May 22—the CSU is rallying to raise awareness of the potential consequences to the CSU's most vulnerable students if such cuts were made.
A Federal Pell Grant is a type of grant that provides financial aid to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need. Unlike federal student loans, Pell Grants generally don't need to be paid back.
Across the CSU system, 211,855 CSU students receive—and rely upon—Pell Grants to support their educational journeys.
The reconciliation bill would require students to enroll in 15 credit hours per semester to be eligible to receive the full amount of the award—an increase from the current 12 credit hours. Also new in the bill, students attending less than half-time—often those balancing work and family obligations—would be entirely ineligible for Pell.
The CSU estimates that if enacted, these two policies would slash funding to its Pell Grant students by $200 million annually. An estimated 60% of the CSU's Pell Grant students would have their Pell Grant cut or would fully lose access to their grant (based on fall 2024 enrollment).
Those numbers can be broken down as follows:
- 47% of CSU students (100,430 students) who previously received the maximum award would see a prorated amount to their grant;
- 8% of CSU students (17,237 students) who previously saw a prorated reduction to their award would have their grant further prorated; and
- 5% of CSU students (10,885 students) would become ineligible for any grant.
The potential cuts to the Pell Grant have alarmed staff, students and families across the CSU system.
“As CSSA president and a first-generation student from Santa Ana, I know firsthand that the Pell Grant is more than just financial aid—it is the cornerstone of educational equity in the CSU system," said California State Student Association President Iese Esera, who is preparing to graduate from San Francisco State with a master's degree in public administration.
“[The Pell Grant] gave me the resources and confidence to pursue my degree, and today, it empowers hundreds of thousands of students to overcome economic barriers, close the opportunity gap, and transform their lives and communities through higher education," added Esera. “Without federal support, students like me are put at risk of dropping out, carrying insurmountable debt and seeing their dreams slip away."
The CSU has made preserving Pell Grants a central point of its advocacy in Washington, D.C. CSU Chancellor Mildred García highlighted those efforts during her remarks at the Board of Trustees meeting this week and reminded community members that there is still an opportunity for advocacy to make an impact.
“While [the proposed cut] is alarming, we must remember that the Senate is just beginning its process, and its budget resolution seeks far less in reductions. We have months to push back on these potential cuts—and we will," García said.
Keep up with next steps on the Pell Grant and other university-related news from Washington, D.C., on the CSU's
Federal Updates page.