The University of Pittsburgh is starting a new initiative to provide more financial aid to students, making receiving a degree from the school more accessible and affordable.
The “Pitt Success Pell Match Program,” announced last weekend, will allow the university to match the grants received by undergraduate students under the Pell Grant program dollar-for-dollar.
“We want any prospective student with the desire and the qualifications to be able to attend the University of Pittsburgh and succeed,” chancellor Patrick Gallagher said.
“This program is one means to that end. It is part of a comprehensive charge that our University is advancing — one initiative at a time — to help all students access a Pitt education, afford a Pitt education and then excel in their Pitt education.”
According to estimates by the university, the program could benefit up to 84 percent of in-state students, and approximately 5,000 total undergraduates who are eligible to receive Pell Grants from the school every year.
In the fall of the 2019–2020 academic year, the school will start matching Pell Grants which will significantly raise its total investment in students with financial need across its campuses.
“Since my appointment, I have reflected on ensuring access to, and affordability of, a great Pitt education,” Ann E. Cudd, provost and senior vice chancellor, said. “Today, with the launch of the Pitt Success Pell Match Program, I am very excited that we are taking another important step in our efforts to support inclusive excellence.”
The latest initiative follows a variety of other affordability moves that the university has recently undertaken, including the Pittsburgh Admissions Collaboration, Pitt Fund$Me, Coalition for College, Raise Me, Panthers Forward and Pittsburgh Public Scholars.
Majority of Teens In Favor of Forgiving $1.5 Trillion Student Loan Debt