<p>"Mini - I agree, access is an issue. But it’s a different issue than affordability to a certain extent. Talking about “the nursing program at the local community college being harder to get into than Harvard” is different than saying “the nursing program at the local community program is more EXPENSIVE than Harvard.”</p>
<p>It is saying that 1) we don’t nearly have enough resources (though we have plenty for Halliburton), and 2) that we are using our resources poorly. It is saying that the local cc is less available to poor people than Harvard (as weird as that is - actually, I should say Penn, which has a nursing school.) Since the community college nursing program is not available for 9 out of 10 poor applicants, their next best option is to apply to the nursing program at the University of Washington. However, the Pell Grant that would have helped them at the cc is a drop-in-the-bucket at UW, where tuition has skyrocketed, and Pell Grants haven’t come close to keeping pace.</p>
<p>The Harvards of the world use Pell Grants simply to offset their financial aid awards, and since they admit so few to begin with it isn’t a big deal there. At Smith or Occidental it is a big deal (Pell Grant recipients at Smith likely receive approximately $2 million in Pell dollars.) At the big UCs, it is huge!</p>
<p>Most college admissions (though you’d never know from these boards) today are “job training” – accounting, supply chain management, nursing, various forms of engineering, etc. Current public policy accomplishes neither of your two ends particularly well.</p>