The Nation : Student Aid Data Disputed

The director of a survey of college freshmen said Education Secretary William J. Bennett misused his data in telling Congress an estimated 13,000 students from families with incomes of more than $100,000 get federal loans. “I’d say there are probably less than half that number” of wealthy students receiving such aid, said Alexander Astin, head of UCLA’s Higher Education Institute and director of the 1984 survey, “The American Freshman.” Also reacting to Bennett’s statement was John Phillips, president of the 850-member National Assn. of Independent Colleges and Universities, who issued a statement citing Astin’s criticisms and blasting Bennett.