Albion College is one of the most expensive private schools in Michigan and many of its students come from families of means.

On the surface, it would appear the liberal arts students at Albion would have little in common with those living in the poor neighborhood that surrounds the school, where a third of residents live in poverty.

Yet they do, and most students are likely unaware of this stunning fact: A greater percentage of Albion students are receiving federal welfare money than those in the neighborhood surrounding the campus.

At Albion, 63 percent of in-state students receive a Michigan Competitive Scholarship or a Michigan Tuition Grant, college aid the students themselves might be surprised to learn is funded almost entirely with federal anti-poverty money. This at a college in which the median family income of students receiving financial aid is nearly $76,000.

That rate is also more than double the percentage of Albion students who were awarded a Pell Grant in the 2013-14 school year, which go to U.S. college students coming from the poorest of family backgrounds.

The use of federal welfare money to help more financially comfortable Michigan students attend pricey private schools is hardly confined to Albion.

Two-thirds of Michigan students at Calvin College benefit from welfare funds, even though the median family income of Calvin students getting financial aid is $85,000. Similar numbers emerge at Alma, Kettering, Hope, Olivet and other expensive schools.

In all, Michigan spends about $100 million annually in welfare money from Washington on college aid, including millions that benefit families earning over $100,000. This in a state in which only 18 of every 100 families living in poverty are receiving cash assistance.

Slideshow: Private colleges, public aid

Michigan has spent more than $1 billion in federal anti-poverty money on college scholarships and grants since 2007, much of it going to middle- or higher-income students attending pricier private schools. Because costs there are higher than at public universities – with tuition at some exceeding $40,000 – many more affluent families qualified for the aid. These 10 schools had the widest gap between the percent of in-state students getting aid (generally high) and the percent of poor students on campus (often far lower) during the 2013-14 school year.

Note: Students getting welfare aid is the percent of in-state students who received a Michigan Competitive Scholarship or a Michigan Tuition Grant. Median family income is for all families that received federal financial aid, including student loans. Poor students on campus are the percent of all students awarded a Pell Grant, given to students with the lowest family incomes, usually below $20,000.

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