The Pell Grant Problem
The Pell Grant does not require repayment and is awarded to millions of low-income students each year to help them attend college.
However, based on a report from the New America Foundation, many colleges only admit a few Pell Grant students, or do not offer enough support for Pell Grant students who cannot meet their college costs. The colleges researched in the report included 828 private colleges and 598 public colleges.
One possible factor behind the low number of Pell Grant students at colleges is that a college might prefer to accept wealthier students with merit scholarships instead of accepting students with need-based scholarships.
Two suggestions made to improve the Pell Grant have included requiring colleges to match the Pell Grant amount awarded to students, or giving bonuses to colleges who have 25% or more Pell Grant students in their student population.
(Source: Inside Higher Ed)