UT-Austin Enrolls One Of Its Largest Pell Grant Students Classes

AUSTIN, TX — Thanks to new financial aid programs that cover tuition and provide additional support for low-income students, the University of Texas at Austin enrolled one of its largest-ever classes of Pell Grant students this year while increasing the overall percentage of Pell Grant students enrolled as undergraduates, school officials revealed on Thursday.

The increase comes at a crucial time for Texas families struggling with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials noted. It also bucks a national trend of declining college enrollments among low-income students, officials added.

According to data from the National College Attainment Network, applications for financial aid declined 4.2 percent this year, a decline that indicates a national drop in enrollment among students eligible for Pell Grants, federal subsidies given to students with the highest financial need. A survey by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities confirmed a nearly 8 percent decrease among students who received Pell Grant awards at private colleges and universities.

In contrast, the number of incoming freshmen with Pell Grants at UT-Austin rose from 1,803 to 2,361 students, officials said, accounting for 28.4 percent of the entering class. Overall, 22.4 percent of UT-Austin undergraduates were awarded Pell Grants this year, compared with 21.3 percent last year.

The higher numbers at Texas suggest the effectiveness of UT’s two latest financial aid expansions, the Texas Advanced Commitment and, new for this year, UT for Me – Powered by Dell Scholars. UT for Me is the result of a $100 million commitment over 10 years from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to support Pell Grant-eligible students, more than two-thirds of whom come from families with incomes of $30,000 or less each year.

“The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation could not have stepped up at a more important time to offer these crucial resources so students from all backgrounds can pursue the dream of a UT degree,” President Jay Hartzell said in a prepared statement. “Together with our Board of Regents, they are helping thousands of students and families chart an educational path forward despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Admissions staff members at the university attribute the 6 percent increase in Pell Grants for incoming freshmen to several factors but perhaps most importantly the UT Dell Scholars program, which welcomed its first cohort this fall. Incoming Pell-eligible freshmen were automatically admitted into the cohort, and students with the most financial need received a scholarship of $20,000 over their time in college that can be applied to the cost of attendance, including room and board, transportation, supplies and other expenses.

For Texas residents, the Dell Scholars funding came on top of the Texas Advance Commitment, which guarantees aid to cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Texas families earning $65,000 or less each year.

Financial barriers aren’t the only challenge facing low-income students this school year, school officilas noted, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes the vast majority of learning and educational resources online. Lack of access to computers, reliable internet access, counseling services and other programs that serve as springboards for low-income students across the country are increasingly out of reach, officials added.

However, at UT-Austin, all Pell-eligible students (including UT Dell scholars) have been able to receive crucial non-financial resources and mentoring through UT for Me – Powered by Dell Scholars. Through UT for Me, students receive:

• Personalized, multifaceted support.
• A laptop computer.
• Financial aid coaching and financial literacy training.
• Tutoring and textbook support.
• Peer advising support.
• Internship and career planning.
• Connections to university resources and programming.
• On-track graduation planning.

UT for Me has made all of these resources available online so that first-time-in-college Pell-recipient students — nearly 75 percent of whom are taking online-only courses — can access the support they need to complete their degrees.

With the financial support and academic services offered by both the Dell Scholars program and UT for Me, UT Austin hopes to raise six-year graduation rates for Pell-eligible students from 73 percent to 90 percent, which would surpass the university’s current overall six-year graduation rate of 86 percent, officials said.

UT Austin’s current overall percentage of Pell Grant students, while rising, remains lower than the most recent peak of 28 percent Pell awardees in 2011-12, in the wake of the 2008 recession. "If recent economic history offers a guide, the university’s new financial aid programs will be vital for students and their families in the years to come, as the country seeks to recover from the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic," officials wrote.