Plea for Help

Dear John Around Him et al.,

I couldn’t agree more. I believed in the American Dream as did you. I came from a poor family of immigrants and we did not qualify for anything except loans. And so, I took them, I signed on the lines, believing that my new salary would be enough to pay to pay back the loans as well as living expenses. And, I chose good schools—why not? Don’t I deserve a quality education? Or, is that reserved only for the rich, or already educated? Now I am in debt over my head and instead of celebrating my doctoral degree, I dread graduation because the bills are coming in and my salary hasn’t gone anywhere near where I imagined it would. So, you are in what I would consider “good company” Mr. Around Him. I worked 3 part-time jobs, and raised 2 sons as I went through school. I know the struggles you faced (although I have not ever been in the military, family members have served in Viet Nam). Thank you for serving your country...I hope this problem is resolved soon so that others like us can attend the college of their choice at a reasonable tuition. How does free sound?

Linda Kvamme, at 9:25 am EDT on May 14, 2007

Kerry & Kennedy

The real crime is that congress could only come up with a competing loan program. They became a member of the lucrative lending community rather than increasing need based aid to students. They learned nothing from the GI Bill which showed that given the chance Americans of any income bracket could excel in higher education making America and the economy stronger.

At low cost public institutions the student with maximum Pell and maximum loan is thrown out into the street after fall semester because the funds provided are insufficient to cover the past due balance and allow the student to register for spring. Of course there were no illegal revenue sharing kickback schemes for the lenders to make private loans to these students.

Thanks for all the support out there for needy students. It seems like the needy got run over by Congress, the Associations and the Department in the deals to help the middle class with loans.

However, you could have the job of actually escorting these students from campus; it could always be worse.

Bonehead, at 9:50 am EDT on May 14, 2007

affordability??

$2400 may not sound like a lot to some... but do the math. That’s $50 a week out of an already stressed paycheck (more than that, since you have to pay up front, and start all over agian in 9 months), and that’s before books or supplies or the almost necessary computer and internet connection, not to mention transportation, and even babysitters for some.

The loan program is a joke... added in as a part of a financial aid package when poor people have no clue what that really means in the long-term. And the loan forgiveness programs are so unfair. I did daycare... briefly... did foster care for 14 years, and that, unlike daycare, where you are only responsible a few hours a day, has no loan forgiveness. I even work for a federal program to assist low-income families, but there is no loan forgiveness for that. You have to teach them in a classroom an hour at a time, not all day long in Learning Center. I absolutely love what I do, but I have long ago given up on any sense of jfairness when it comes to the financial aid process.

Pat, at 11:10 am EDT on May 14, 2007

Tuition is not the whole story

I’m surprised that a college President would act as if tuition is the only cost of going to college. Most universities include the cost of room and board when providing a student with an estimate of the cost of a year of schooling, although many colleges do not. Those costs are much greater than tuition.

A student with a true full-time load of 15 hours needs to devote 45 hours a week to class and study time, plus whatever time it takes to commute to campus. That is a full-time job, and limits the time available to work a real job to pay for room and board. If you work more hours, it will take more time (and hence a lot more room-and-board dollars) to get through school.

Although the letter is asking for a return to a broader program of financial assistance for all students, one can also question whether the $1000 per month for 3 years that the GI Bill currently offers is the “living wage” for four years that was available after WW II.

CCPhysicist, at 12:45 pm EDT on May 14, 2007

Great Letter

What a great letter. I, too, shared this young man’s experience with financial aid when I was a student in college. My parents made too much money for me to receive any significant financial aid, but I was not old enough to be considered “financially independent.”

Daphne Borromeo, Director for Communications, at 2:35 pm EDT on May 14, 2007

Broke!

I’m in the same situation as Linda and JMM. All I’ve ever qualified for are student loans — even the year I only made $7000 as a TA. While I have gone back to work fulltime, I am still taking classes parttime. In Februrary I was informed that I was ineligible for my spring loan because I dropped down to one course. (I was advised to do this because I took my doctoral qualifying exam this semester.) I still haven’t paid my tuition for the semester and have maxed out my credit card.

Oh yeah, and that Masters degree that I went into debt for in order to earn more money? I make $5000 less than I did with a Bachelor’s degree.

Working poor, at 5:30 pm EDT on May 15, 2007

Let’s Change The Way It’s Done

I just read the article and everyone’s comments and I hear a lot of frustration. Some think that tuition is too high, some think that the financial aid benchmarks are unreasonable and still others are disappointed in the job market. There are a few points I’d like to make, mainly relating to financial aid.

One of the biggest barriers I see for students is their dependency status. When I made the decision to attend college I, like many students I see, supported myself and received no financial support from my family. Unfortunately, I was still considered a dependent student. It was very difficult for me to get my mother to give me her taxes and sign the appropriate paperwork I needed for financial aid as she did not understand why I needed it of she wouldn’t be helping me financially. After some convincing, she agreed. Using my mother’s income information limited my financial options. I made a good go of it but in the end, it was too difficult for me to work full-time while attending classes and I dropped out. Later, when I could be considered an independent student, I returned to college. I do feel lucky to be one of the students able to return to college but also found that I was balancing a new set of responsibilities (parenthood) with work and studies.

I do think that the test for being an independent student should change. It is true that some people may try to take advantage of the new system but the benefit to students far outweighs the risk. Don’t forget that there are ways to try and weed out those students who should be considered dependent. Did the student’s parent(s) claim them on the previous year’s taxes? Did the student have a questionably low income? Did the student include parent support as unreported income on the FAFSA worksheet? I suspect that there would be no more abuse of the Pell grant system than there is now.

My institution just went through our own budget process and I was able to see, first-hand, the hard choices that have to be made. It is difficult to provide a quality education while remaining accessible and below the Pell threshold. Part of the issue is that we, as a nation, have not prioritized education. The money is out there, it’s just a question of whether or not we feel that educating our population is a good use of the money. Every time I have a student questioning the dependency guidelines or financial aid amounts, I tell them to write their representative.

The biggest question I see here is how can we help more people attend and be successful in college? I chose to enter into the financial aid field and be vocal in my beliefs regarding the financial aid process. What will you do?

Emily Spence, Financial Aid Counselor, at 3:05 pm EDT on May 18, 2007