I am a senior at Mizzou (University of Missouri) studying Biological Sciences and I will be applying to medical school at the end of this year. I come from a single-parent household and my mother makes about $20,000/year; hardly enough to put me through college. Without federal aid such as the Pell Grant, I would not have enough money to attend college at all. Furthermore, I am a recipient of the loan program for health professionals (the PRIMO program) from the Department of Health and Senior Services–they provide extra aid to low-income students to help them get through college in exchange for working as a physician in an area of defined need.

Without this program, I would not have been able to succeed in my classes. It is impossible to work and take the classes I am required to take, much less to get good enough grades to be accepted into medical school. I am a volunteer for the Red Cross Mid-Missouri Chapter. I have also volunteered many hours at Planned Parenthood educating patients and volunteered at the hospital in the Ronald McDonald Family Room providing emotional support to families with sick children in the hospital—among many other responsibilities. I would not have been able to devote my time to people in need without help from the PRIMO program.

In addition, I am a medical assistant at Planned Parenthood and I know first-hand how important the services we provide to people really are. Without Planned Parenthood (or a title X clinic like it) these women would be on their own. The majority of our patients literally cannot afford to go anywhere else, and without our care, they simply would not receive services such as cancer screenings, birth control, and so much more.

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2007 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2009 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• College Board Trends in Pricing