President Bill Clinton's proposal for a new merit-based college scholarship program aiming to reward the top five percent of high school seniors in the nation has generated mixed reaction by Dartmouth students, professors and administrators.
According to the proposal, the government would give $1,000, one time only, to deserving recipients in both public and private schools. Clinton made the scholarship proposal in his State of the Union address.
In his address, Clinton said the program is an attempt "to open the doors of college even wider."
Clinton also suggested expanding current need-based scholarships, such as Pell Grants, and offering tax deductions for up to $10,000 spent on college tuition or job training.
Barbara Loomis '99 said she liked the idea of merit-based scholarships, but "any kid knows that $1,000 doesn't go that far."
Education Department Chair Robert Binswanger said he favors the proposal.
"The costs of higher education are astronomical," he said. "Any kind of aid and support is positive for families who want to give their children a good education."
Binswanger said the proposed program is "an incentive grant," but he noted that $1,000 "will buy books for a year."
"It tries to encourage the best and brightest students to seek a challenging education," he said. "It's a good idea to praise the student who does well."
Mary Childers, director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, said she has "not formed an opinion," on the proposal.
"These are complicated and difficult issues that people need to make an educated decision about, not just off the cuff," Childers said.
Michael McPherson, head of Williams College's Center on Higher Education and the Economy, wrote in The Chronicle of Higher Education that the program will be most helpful to upper income students.
"Since class rank and family income are closely tied, the plan would do most to help upper-income students," he wrote.
When asked about effects of the proposed program on Dartmouth, Binswanger said, "Would it change the freshmen class? I doubt it."
Ben Halasz '99 said he thought Clinton's proposal might prompt the College to raise tuition.
"It would be very easy for the College to raise tuition an extra $1,000, knowing that most of its incoming students would receive these scholarships," Halasz said.
Loomis expressed concern that merit-based scholarships might cause Dartmouth to reduce the amount of financial aid it offers students.
"If you are going to get financial aid anyway, any school will adjust your award accordingly" based on the numbers after the scholarship, she said. "It might make a difference to the school but not to the student."
Vice President for governmental relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Edward Elmendorf recently told The Chronicle of Higher Education the program is "good politics, but lousy policy."
Undersecretary of Education Marshall Smith recently told The Chronicle of Higher Education that the annual $125 million merit-based proposal is "symbolic."
The proposal is "more of an honor than an actual financial boost," Loomis said.
Halasz suggested that "instead of giving $1,000 to every student in the top 5 percent, I would favor giving a larger amount to students in the top 5 percent who otherwise could not afford to go to a good school."
President Bush made a scholarship proposal similar to Clinton's in 1992, but his plan sought to tie need-based Pell Grants to academic performance.
"I think we need need-based scholarships," Binswanger said, voicing the popular opinion which caused the ultimate downfall of the former president's proposal.
"If it's only merit-based, the government is switching the aim of its program to rewarding students simply for doing well as opposed to trying to create an equal opportunity for students of equal caliber to go to school," Halasz added.
