For Riley Getchell, the financial aid award she received from Yale University was a bigger deal than the acceptance into the school itself.
As a first-generation, low-income student, she needed substantial assistance to be able to attend college. She said the aid she gets from Yale covers 90% of her tuition and expenses. But she fears the changes under a federal tax bill, for higher education institutions and the funds that support financial aid, could put her into debt her senior year.
“I always say that the moment I opened my college acceptance letter changed my life,” she said. “But the reality is that the moment that really changed my life was when I opened my financial aid award.”
One by one, as they spoke outside of the U.S. Capitol, students from Connecticut and elsewhere spoke about how financial aid helped them achieve the dream of going to college without being saddled with massive debt when they graduate.
Connecticut students took the lead in organizing the trip to D.C. to share their stories and meet with U.S. senators who are actively considering and making some changes to President Donald J. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The trip came together pretty quickly, and 10 days ago, they reached out to office of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to hold a press conference.
For many of the students who traveled to D.C. this week, they are able to attend college with little expenses because of their schools’ generous financial aid, plus federal student loan programs. Much of that aid is funded by college and university endowments. Yale has one of the largest university endowments, and the current changes in the GOP tax bill could cost the school an estimated $690 million a year.
Emi Glass said Pell Grants, outside scholarship and financial aid from Yale helped her attend college and pursue opportunities like study abroad and an unpaid government internship over the summer “without fear of debt.”
And for Cayla Waddington, she said she needed to aim for an Ivy League school because she would get more financial support from wealthier institutions. The rising sophomore at Yale from West Philadelphia didn’t qualify for enough financial aid at other colleges and would still end up owing at least $30,000.
“I knew my only chance at being able to afford college was to go to a school that had enough money and resources to support me on its own,” Waddington said. “Now, I pay next to nothing for my Yale education, thanks to their endowment. This story isn’t unique to me, and it’s not unique to Yale. There are thousands of us from across the country who share the same story.”
The legislation includes a number of higher education provisions, including changes to student loans and financial assistance.
Since taking office, Trump has sought to reshape the higher education landscape. House Republicans on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee argued that the bill “holds woke, elite universities that operate more like major corporations and other tax-exempt entities accountable, ensuring they can no longer abuse generous benefits provided through the tax code.”
The House-passed bill proposes raising the endowment tax from 1.4% to 21%. While it’s a tiered system and the number will vary by school, Yale is one of the wealthier private institutions that would likely face the highest tax rate.
The Yale students in D.C. on Thursday credited the university’s endowment with providing them with substantial financial aid. Yale provides free tuition for students from households that make under $150,000 a year.
Shortly after the House passed the bill, Yale President Maurie McInnis sent a message to everyone at the school to get involved and call on the Senate to reconsider the hike in the endowment tax. She noted that Yale’s endowment makes up a third of the school’s total revenue and helps provide financial aid — and supports research and some faculty as well.
The federal legislation also seeks cutting or paring back student loan options.
Pell Grant recipients who want to get the maximum amount need to be full-time students. Under the bill, students would need to increase the number of credits they take each semester from 12 to 15 to reach that status. They need to be half-time students to get at least some assistance. But it would also expand these grants in other cases by making short-term vocational training eligible for Pell.
The bill would also reduce the number of existing income-driven repayment plans to pay back student loans and get rid of federal subsidized loans for undergraduates.
Some students worried what the elimination of federal subsidized loans would mean for them if that provision goes into effect in July 2026.
Rebeckah Rubin graduated a few weeks ago from Eastern Connecticut State University and will attend New England Law in Boston in August. She was able to get her degree by relying on subsidized loans and Direct PLUS loans. She warned of “misleading and predatory” private student loan lenders taking advantage of students, especially those who are first-generation.
For the past two days, the group of students has been trying to meet with members of Congress in both parties to lobby against the bill’s higher education provisions. Zach Pan, one of the organizers from Yale, said they reached out to a dozen Republican offices, noting that one student had a meeting with one GOP senator.
Getchell said a group of 25 students went to meetings on Thursday around Capitol Hill. Some of the Connecticut contingent includes at least eight students from Yale as well as some from the University of Connecticut and Eastern Connecticut State University.
When organizing the visit, she said, the group worked with Yale’s Office of Federal Affairs. The university will also help cover some students’ travel expenses.
Beyond efforts to meet with members of Congress this week, the students said they will be seeking to publish op-eds in local newspapers to bring attention to measures like the endowment tax.
At Thursday’s press conference, Blumenthal, who was joined by U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said many of the aspects of the bill that face changes were once supported by both Democrats and Republicans.
“It will cap federal student aid and eliminate subsidized loan options that prevent interest from accruing while you’re in school, and when you graduate, it will force you spend more of your income on loan payments,” Blumenthal said. “This reconciliation bill is a dream killer, a job killer, a school killer.”
The House passed the wide-ranging legislation along party lines in late May, and the Senate is now negotiating and drafting its own version.
Because the Senate is likely to make changes, Republicans in both chambers will likely need to reconcile the differences and vote on a compromise bill. The Senate is actively making revisions to some parts of the legislation, including the education piece of it.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
