http://www.nasfaa.org/Main/fa-news/natl/For_Those_Without_High-School_Diplomas,_Federal_Student_Aid_Comes_to_an_End.aspx

For Those Without High-School Diplomas, Federal Student Aid Comes to an End

"They're part of the 1 percent, but not the kind with a private jet and country-club membership," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "They're the relatively small population of students who don't have a high-school diploma but are relying on federal aid to attend college. For them, life might be getting more challenging. That's because starting July 1, students without a diploma or GED will no longer be eligible to receive federal student aid. Over the past two decades such students, who are disproportionately minorities and from low-income families, have been able to receive federal aid for college, without a high-school diploma or its equivalent, by demonstrating their "ability to benefit" from higher education. They could prove such ability by taking a basic-skills test, or by completing six credits or 225 clock hours of college work. But late last year, Congress tightened the eligibility requirements for student aid as it sought to pay for a growing Pell Grant program while maintaining the maximum Pell award level."

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More details are at http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Ability-to-Benefit-FAQs.pdf/ . The policy takes effect on July 1, 2012.

Gifted students were not being thought of when this rule was made, and they may suffer collateral damage. I don't think students who lack a high school diploma or GED and who also do poorly on the SAT and ACT should get federal subsidies for college. But there are gifted students who are ready to attend college (as demonstrated by their academic record, including standardized test scores) before getting a diploma. It sounds like the new rules would exclude them. I think a sufficient SAT or ACT score should be allowed as a substitute for a diploma or GED in qualifying for federal aid.

Ouch.

I'd heard rumors about this from friends with the Academy as long ago as winter 2010, so this isn't a huge surprise to me... though I have to say, it really hamstrings GT students in my state, since they have no WAY to earn a G.E.D. prior to becoming 18 years old. :sigh:

I think that as well, Bostonian, but apparently nobody thought to take a close look at just who such a policy will impact disproportionately; PG children from families with modest or lower-than-average income levels, who are now "trapped" because they have at-risk children unserved by public high schools which act as the gateway (and a barrier) to what they need. Nice.

Sounds as though what's needed there is a banner - such as Davidson's. I get the impression that Davidson's isn't a heavyweight organisation with an employee who would do that - though maybe someone knows differently - but could those of you with DYS children write a joint letter that you'd all sign and get permission to send it on DYS letterhead or similar, to alert legislators to the unintended consequence of what they're doing?

That's going to be a real problem for Mary Baldwin's PEG program kids. That was our backup consideration should dd13 still find that she's not liking high school after giving it one more year. Without financial aid, private school tuition for a program like that will be nearly impossible and I understand that the school itself is usually not able to offer enough financial aid to make it reasonable in terms of cost.

It's possible to apply for a waiver (google GED age waiver).

You could always lie about the student's age, too. Once s/he has the GED, you'll have satisfied the requirements of one set of bureaucrats, who hopefully won't get in touch with the other set of bureaucrats.

So, essentially kids who want to attend programs like PEG and get federal financial aid will need to get a GED age waiver and pass the GED test first rather than just forgoing a high school diploma/GED?

That sounds feasible but it just adds one extra step.

eta: in double checking that for my state, I find that anyone under age 16 is not eligible for a GED age waiver. Typically one has to be 17 to take the GED exam, but 16 y/os can apply for an age waiver. My dd won't be 17 even if she graduates on time. Should she want to do a program like PEG that allows her to skip part of high school, there is no way she can get a GED before that. She is, therefore, disqualified from getting financial aid for an early entrance program.

Googling GED Age Waiver, the first link states

"You need to be 19 years of age to take an official GED (high school equivalency) Test in the state of Minnesota. If you are 16, 17, or 18 years old, you will need to apply for and obtain an age waiver from the MN Department of Education. This age waiver gives you permission to take the test before you are 19 years old."

There are gifted students 15 years old and even younger who belong in college. The NAGC should ask Congress to amend the law in the way I suggested earlier, allowing SAT or ACT scores as substitutes for the GED.

Studies have found that GED holders more closely resemble high school dropouts than graduates in outcomes. It does not certify much. I think that as an alternative to the current GED test, passing scores on the ACT and SAT should be defined for a GED.

lists eligibility requirements as diploma, GED, or home schooled.

So, this continues keeping homeschool diplomas at parity with those of government schools. This could be another factor pushing gifted families towards homeschooling if they want or need to radically accelerate.

Yes, the minimum-of-16 requirement was why I also mentioned lying. And yes, the situation is ridiculous, and IMO is evidence of disregard for HG+ kids as a group.

Raptor_dad, good point: create a private school in your own home, issue a diploma, and move on!

Dragging this back up...

So I posted a question to PEG on their FB page after this came up to ask what it meant for their students. It took them a while to reply, but they responded that it won't affect PEG students and that they'll still qualify for federal financial aid. Seeing as how none of their students have high school diplomas or GEDs, I'm not sure how that is, but they have not yet responded to my response asking if their kids get waivers or what.

Is this really a concern for the GT? If your scores are high enough on the college entrance exams aren't you expecting to get a big chunk of aid from the university? And if that is the case you should realize that any additional aid you get from one source will often limit money from another. I know from my own experience in undergrad that when I found a scholarship from an outside source that the result was the university cut another scholarship award I had to the point that I actually ended up with less aid than if I hadn't gotten the outside scholarship... In grad school I was over funded from so many sources that more than 40% of the money I was awarded was returned to the source as it was beyond the school's official budget... I'm only saying this because there are a lot of sources of scholarships and fellowships out there and if you are a high achiever you can easily get it all paid for without accepting any government aid.

A part of me is glad that they had added this to the government rules, it should cut down on the number of poor kids that are suckered into those degree mills like University of Phoenix that simply seek to make money and rubber stamp diplomas... Though in a perfect world the would ban giving any money to students that could not achieve at least a score above the 50th percentile on a major college entrance exam, I've also known many people that got into large public universities with ACT scores between 11 and 13 (how you can score that low on a multiple choice exam boggles the mind).

That certainly wasn't the case when I was in school. I got need-based aid, and some small merit scholarships, but there was Federal grant money and student loans in my financial aid package, too. It's my understanding that the financial aid world has become more loan-based in the 20 years since then, too.

When you're going to a school where everyone is high scoring, the school doesn't pay you to go there because you're high scoring. You have to go to a school where most people aren't high scoring if you want a free ride, and that can be a hard sell if you've been waiting for 13 years to finally be around people like you.

I think the opposite is true for the elite schools:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/09/pf/college/no-loan_financial_aid/index.htm
No loans! Major colleges pledge aid without debt
CNN
April 9, 2010
The economic crisis may have pared school endowments and state aid to education, but many colleges say they remain committed to fully funding students' financial need.

In fact, a group of schools is pledging to do it mostly through grants and work-study programs, and not with loans.
Yale, Harvard and the University of California network are among the at least 50 colleges planning to limit or remove loans from their financial aid packages, according to a report released this week by the Institute for College Access and Success. While 50 might not seem like a lot, their student bodies represent 8% of all four-year college students in the United States.

The "Project on Student Debt" report comes in the wake of announcements from both Williams College and Dartmouth that, due to diminished endowments, they will re-introduce loans to their financial aid packages starting in the 2011-2012 school year. Both schools previously had a "no-loan policy" in offering need-based financial aid.

Schools are trying to getting away from loans in an effort to avoid saddling graduates with debt that could limit their career options and start them in a deep financial hole. So the fact that so many big schools are staying with the program is seen as good news by the institute.

...

Is the University of California still doing this? They've raised tuition over 30% in the last few years and there are plans for more hikes. It seems odd that they have enough money to even limit loans.

California's Blue + Gold Opportunity Plan
http://www.universityofcalifornia.e...inancial-aid/grants/blue-gold/index.html

requires students to

"Demonstrate income below $80,000 with financial need, as determined for federal need-based aid program."

To return to the original topic , PEG did post on their FB page the following explanation:


I don't want to be a nuisance and keep asking them for more info, but I would like to see in writing from the feds an agreement that this new regulation does not apply to early entrants.

The quote they gave you appears on page 1-7. It's treated identically to a GED.

Online education is more flexible, as students can view their lectures and tutorials anytime at any place. There are many online diploma institutes and universities which are providing chance for the student to pass their diploma or degree online. These online certifications are more cheaper than the regular one.