Letting Students Know They May Qualify for Additional Aid

The Choice has a timely article about financial aid. Its a good read but the bottom line is you can never start too early on financial aid. Best of luck to the upcoming school year!

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August 21, 2009, 12:38 pm

By Jonathan D. Glater

The fall is shaping up to be incredibly busy for financial aid offices around the country, as more students affected by the recession seek money to help pay for school.

But even as more people are asking for more money, aid officials say many students and parents slammed by unexpected economic hardship do not realize that under a policy recently announced by the federal Education Department, they might qualify for more assistance.

The Obama administration is trying to get the word out, advising college aid officials to be flexible in responding to students’ changing financial circumstances.

The federal Education Department has already told aid officials that in calculating eligibility for aid, they may exclude unemployment compensation. (The policy was described in a “dear colleague” letter from the Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, to aid officials.

That makes it easier for students to qualify for federal Pell Grants, available to the neediest students, as well as other federal aid.

“We would normally have to use the unemployment compensation against them,” treating it as income available to help pay for classes, said Keith Cobb, director of financial aid at Cypress College, a community college near Los Angeles in Cypress, Calif. Now, he said, “For those students or parents who have a drastic decrease in income in 2009, the current year, we’re able to adjust.”

Aid calculations are generally made based on a student’s, or a student’s family’s, income in the previous year, Mr. Cobb said. But as more people lose jobs or suffer pay cuts or other financial difficulty, the greater flexibility allowed to college officials should mean more federal money reaches more students — if students know it is out there.

Students at community colleges, which generally charge relatively low tuition, may benefit the most from the change in government policy because the federal aid they receive could cover much or all of their costs.

“Particularly at lower-cost, open-enrollment institutions, students often do not realize that Pell Grants and Federal student loans are available not only for tuition and books, but also for transportation and living expenses that help make focusing on their studies possible,” wrote Jill Biden, wife of the vice president and a community college English professor, in a letter to community college presidents last month.

While students may not be aware of all their options, many more than in years past are seeking financial assistance, according to Mr. Cobb and financial aid officials at other colleges. This academic year, Cypress already has received more than 2,000 aid applications, compared to 3,300 applications all of last year, he said.

“We’re averaging seeing 400 students walk through our door daily,” Mr. Cobb said.