Giving Compass' Take:

• The Hechinger Report analyzed state data to discover how many eligible students were denied financial aid. 

• How can states support their students without ruining their budgets? How can philanthropy support students who want higher education? 

• Should states be using taxpayer money for higher education? Learn more from this debate.

Last year alone, more than 900,000 low-income students who applied for and were found eligible for state financial aid for college never received it, because states ran out of money, according to a new analysis of state data by The Hechinger Report.

The number is likely much higher — many states don’t keep track of the number of eligible students they turn away, even though they acknowledge that they have run out of money before all eligible students have been served.

And it’s not just a few states that have a severe shortage. In ten states, more than half of eligible students didn’t receive a grant, including Oregon, Kansas, Delaware and Illinois.

“In most states, the aid program comes from the general fund, and once it’s gone, it’s gone,” said Sarah Pingel, senior policy analyst at the Education Commission of the States. “[Legislators] are aware of the consequences, that thousands of students may not get the funding they need to afford college.”

In Maryland more than 18,000 eligible low-income students were denied funds from the state’s need-based tuition aid program last year. In Kentucky it was more than 28,000 students, and in Florida more than 100,000, even though they applied on time and qualified for the aid.

Read the full article about eligible students not getting financial aid by Meredith Kolodner at The Hechinger Report.