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Danielle Torno outside of Great America Theme Park Park in Santa Clara, Calif.... (Nhat V. Meyer)
A mother of four who was laid off in 2008, Danielle Torno had planned on turning her life around next year with the help of a Cal State East Bay business degree.
Instead, the 36-year-old San Jose resident will be searching for another solution because of a little-noticed congressional decision to reduce or eliminate Pell Grants for hundreds of thousands of the poorest college students.
The changes take effect July 1, and students like Torno will bear the brunt of the reforms, which are expected to save $11 billion over 10 years.
Among those who will lose Pell Grants in the summer are at least 65,000 new college students without high school diplomas and 63,000 who, like Torno, have spent more than six years in college. Changes in income requirements will reduce or eliminate grants for nearly 300,000 others.
Torno has been in college off and on since 2000, full time since 2008. Her time in school amounts to the equivalent of six full-time years, which is the new limit on how long a student may receive Pell Grants. The scholarships previously were available for nine years.
"You should be able to get a bachelor's degree in six years, honestly," said Torno, who received a letter last month from the U.S. Department of Education alerting her that she would lose the $5,550-a-year scholarships. "But there should be hardship exceptions. People have families."