"Thousands of college students counting on state merit scholarships this fall may be in for a surprise, as lawmakers are poised to gut the state's financial aid budget," The Detroit News reports. "A Senate Appropriations subcommittee will likely take the first step in that direction today when it takes up a bill to eliminate the Michigan Promise Scholarship and slash the budget for need-based grant programs. If the House, the full Senate and the governor sign off on the plan, its impact would be immediate, forcing colleges to redo financial aid packages and families to scrape up the cash or loans."