The 20% Solutions: Selective Colleges Can Afford to Admit More Pell Grant Recipients

This report illustrates that if every college was required to have at least 20 percent Pell Grant recipients, an additional 72,000 Pell students would have to be admitted to 346 colleges and universities, half of which are selective colleges. Some selective colleges have suggested that Pell Grant recipients do not gain admittance because they would not be able to keep up with the workload. However, the Georgetown Center report finds that 78 percent of Pell recipients who attend selective colleges and universities graduate, while their chances to complete diminish to 48 percent at open-access colleges.