Colleges offer microgrants to help low-income students pay bills that can derail them

During the summer between his sophomore and junior years at Georgia State University, life finally appeared to give Tyler Mulvenna a break. Since his mother got laid off, Mulvenna was working up to 70 hours a week to help cover the mortgage and utilities, as well as transportation, food and textbooks — all while inching toward a degree in French with a concentration in international business. The soft-spoken 21-year-old had time for homework only on his three-hour daily bus commutes to and from the university, where he was striving to graduate within four years. Taking longer, after all, would only cost more.