The maximum Pell Grant is likely to increase for the first time in four years, thanks to both Congress and President Bush.
Pell grants are need-based aid given by the federal government to post-secondary students.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday, January 31, to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $260 to $4,310 for the 2007 budget.
This Monday, Bush took the Pell Grant a step further, proposing an increase to $4,600 for the 2008 fiscal year.
Bush also set a schedule to ultimately increase the Pell Grant to $5,400 by 2012.
Democrats charge Bush is paying for the boost by diverting funds from other higher education grant programs, primarily the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, a grant for students with exceptionally high financial need.
In contrast, the Democrat-led increase approved by the House would not cut funding from any other education program. The House increase will instead use funds gained from eliminating most earmarks in the budget and by moving out of the bill money that the government would have spent on military base closings, according to a report on the Web site InsideHigherEd.com.
Director of Student Aid Stephen Joyce said on Monday, before Bush's announcement, that although a raise of $260 may seem like a small amount, when multiplied over all recipients, the increase can make a serious impact.
A student's Pell Grant is dependent on a two-factor schedule: the expected family contribution and the cost of attending the student's school.
Joyce said he believes that although only the maximum grant will be increased, all recipients can expect a $260 bump in their grants.
Joyce said that about 210 students at Bowdoin receive Pell Grants.
If each of their grants is increased by $260, the Pell Grant program will distribute more than $54,000 to Bowdoin students.
However, Joyce noted that Bowdoin students will not benefit as much as most eligible college students.
"Bowdoin meets full need, so if the Pell Grant weren't there we would find some way to make sure that we funded their full financial need," he said.
Because Bowdoin meets full need, the increase in the Pell Grant size actually means that money that Bowdoin would have otherwise supplied will now be given by the federal government.
The net effect of this situation is that eligible Bowdoin students will be negligibly affected by any increase to the Pell Grant, while the College will reap the benefits.
"That $50,000 could be spent in other ways," said Joyce, when asked if the savings would be reinvested in financial aid.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 286-140, but the Senate has not yet agreed to the House's increase.
However, it is likely to do so, according to Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Approval should come by February 15.
Bush's proposal, however, is far from implementation.
According to Inside Higher Ed, presidential budget requests like Bush's Department of Education proposal are often used only as starting points for extensive debate.
"Budgets often don't materialize," said Joyce on Wednesday.
"The key is still how to pay for this and what would be sacrificed," he said.