Hanover Goes for Pell Students

At a time when many private colleges are trying to woo more students from middle- and upper-income families, Hanover College is going for more students who are eligible for Pell Grants.

For several years now, Hanover has made a Pell Promise to every student in Indiana who is Pell eligible. If the student is good enough to get into Hanover, the college will pay all of their tuition. The maximum Pell award is $6,495. Tuition at Hanover is $39,400, and total costs, including room, board and student fees, are $53,140.

Now Hanover is expanding the Pell Promise nationally. Any student from any state in the country will get the full award at the college -- more than $30,000. At the most competitive private colleges, such awards are common. But they are rare at most colleges.

Peter Ashley, vice president for enrollment and marketing, said, "We have a strong focus on equity and accessibility, and this new program will remove a major barrier for many of our students."

The impact on Hanover's student body could be significant. Hanover has 1,050 students in total.

In 2018, the last year before the program began, the college admitted 229 people from Indiana on Pell Grants, and 44 of them enrolled. In 2019, Hanover admitted 331 students who were Pell eligible and enrolled 77 of them.

The students will now be coming from all over, Ashley said. Realistically, he doesn't expect many from California, but more from the states near Indiana. Still, he will be happy wherever the students come from.

Many students who are Pell eligible, of course, have been eligible for additional aid. But Ashley said the simplicity of the offer should appeal to more students.

"The plan is to pay for it with more students," he said. "We have some empty beds."

The plan is to keep admissions standards where they have been. "We're in a very loan-averse market, and we're not in a very diverse market," he said. "This can work for us to get more students."