As the state budget becomes tighter and student fees increase across the board, many students assess their options to deal with the rising costs they incur in the pursuit of higher education.
Financial aid is just one of these options.
According to data on the federal student aid Web site, there was a 16 percent increase between the number of student federal aid applications received in the first half of 2008 and those received in the first half of the previous year.
Ronald Johnson, director of financial aid at UCLA, said that, though the cost of education is continually escalating and families at all levels are being impacted by the state of the economy, there are resources available to alleviate some of the financial burden on students.
Johnson said students who demonstrate financial need can apply for grants they don’t need to pay back.
Students who demonstrate financial need can get up to $4,700 through the Pell Grant, which is just one grant option and usually the first source of assistance that students receive, Johnson said.
Johnson said the Academic Competitive Grant and National SMART Grant are two other options available to students.
“These are grants that are specifically geared to students who have strong GPAs and also demonstrate financial need,” he said.
Johnson said the Academic Competitive Grant is available to first- and second-year students who are enrolled full-time.
Students need to maintain a 3.0 GPA and can qualify for up to $750 for their first year of study and $1,300 for their second year of study, he said.
Johnson said eligible students in their third or fourth years can be given up to $4,000 when they apply for the SMART Grant.
To be eligible, students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and must also be majoring in a life or physical science or a critical foreign language, he said.
Johnson said the University of California provides a 33 percent return to aid for fees, so if fees go up, students who are eligible for a grant will receive increased grants to cover those fees.
In addition, students can use services available to them through scholarship search engines to assist in locating scholarship funding, he said.
Allan Goodsell, a third-year history student, said he believes he got a good financial aid package from the university and is appreciative of the fact he didn’t need to take out too many loans.
“Through grants and scholarships, my entire tuition and books and supplies are covered,” Goodsell said. “I feel like they really took good care of me.”
Jessica Williams, a fourth-year anthropology student, said though she is receiving almost complete financial assistance, the majority of her aid is in the form of loans she has to pay off upon graduation.
“It’s going to take me years to pay that back, especially with the economy the way it is,” she said.
Students can also apply and be granted work study, Johnson said.
Williams, who transferred from a community college last year, said she held a job before entering UCLA in anticipation of the financial costs of attending the university.
“I tried to stave off having loans to pay on top of the university loans once I transferred,” she said.
Williams said she holds a job now, though she believes it takes away from the time she could spend studying.
“They don’t give me enough money and I can’t afford to not have a job,” she said.
Williams said she plans to pursue graduate school in the future but is worried about finding a job to pay the loans back.
“Graduate school is another four years with the same economic needs and more loans to pay off,” she said. “It’s all on me when I graduate to pay off my loans,” she said.
Goodsell said he plans to attend law school upon completing his undergraduate studies.
He said increasing student fees do not deter him from pursuing law school, but he is worried because many top law schools are costly.
“I’m probably going to be owing a lot after law school,” he said.
Johnson said students can also borrow loans which have low interest rates, such as the Parent PLUS Loan available to undergraduate students and the Graduate PLUS Loan available to graduate students.
“These loans have interest rates that are capped at 8.5 percent and are better options than students applying for private loans, which have variable interest rates and can continue to escalate in cost,” he said.
Johnson said there has also been a lot of legislation that has been passed to assure that students, particularly those coming from low- and middle-class backgrounds, have options to achieve their ultimate college degree goals.
A recently signed higher education act gives college access to students and provides more consumer information to families who want to compare the costs of different universities, Johnson said.
Johnson said though many students have no choice but to apply for private loans, they should not be discouraged from applying for assistance, because there are still considerable resources available for students who are trying to achieve their educational goals.
“Our goal is to direct students to sources that are more advantageous first before they have to resort to any type of private loan,” he said.
“I guess the most important thing that I want to impress upon you is that students should continue to apply for student assistance,” he said.