MS One Grant

Two seniors at the University of Mississippi wanted to raise awareness about a new policy that could affect tens of thousands of college students in the state.

The proposal would change how thousands of students pay for college — and whether they even go.

If a Mississippi proposal is adopted, white students would see their financial aid awards increase, while Black and low-income students’ awards would decrease by hundreds, in some cases thousands, of dollars.

Too often, the university’s president said, Mississippi’s financial aid programs go to poor, lower-performing kids and take money away from students with high ACT scores.

Under the new program, non-white students at four-year universities will lose $900,000 in state financial aid while white students will gain more than $1.4 million.

Under the recommended changes to state financial aid, non-white students at four-year universities would lose $1.1 million while white students would gain nearly $1.6 million.