Category | Arts & Living

Students find financial aid hard to come by

Published on November 17, 2009 by Anastasia Bartolucci

There has been an increasing negativity concerning financial aid and its ability to assist students.  The school and government enlisted program, while designed to ease financial hardship on struggling students, has become more hassle than help-leaving students to wonder, where is the “aid” in financial aid?

The number of financial aid applications is up more than 10 percent from last year; however, instead of expanding the window to facilitate the new applicants, lenders are suspending loan programs and tightening credit standards.

Although there are various divisions to the breakdown of the program’s assistance, the department typically directs its attention to need-based students.  Acceptance comes in the form of two issues:  the cost of education and the family’s ability to pay.  However, the process has become more complicated than simply check-marking a student’s eligibility.

After filling out the FAFSA application and answering questions about parents’ income, status, siblings and taxes-students are discouraged when they learn this is only the first step of a very long requirement list.  If applying for a loan, students must hunt down the lowest interest rate from the most reliable bank, complete an entrance and exit loan-counseling form, sign a few promissory notes and report all these processions back and forth between the bank and the financial aid department.

The troubles don’t subside there, especially for freshman   Amanda Fogley who remarked, “Be prepared to spend your life in that office.”  Fogley qualified for the need-based financial assistance and submitted all forms and met each deadline. “I still had to remain on top of the department, to ensure they were moving everything through the process correctly,” she said.

Junior Josh Bridges claimed the whole system is unfair. A transfer student, Bridges battled similar issues with his previous institution and because he did not qualify for aid there.

“That was the beginning of a long downward descent in my college career,” Bridges said.  Due to his not meeting the qualifications, Bridges had to work two jobs while attending school.  The time infringements proved devastating and his grades declined. Once Bridges was accepted into KSU, he was again denied aid.  This time, he was denied because of a low GPA from his previous university.

“I can’t win.  I begin college with good grades, but because I didn’t qualify for assistance, it caused my grades to suffer.  Then, when my income finally would have qualified me for assistance, they tell me my grades aren’t good enough-it’s all a double-bladed sword,” Bridges said. “My funds weren’t even dispersed to me until two weeks after class payment deadlines. I end up paying out-of-pocket anyway.”

In her four years at KSU, Fakai Grudu has seen many friends who have been forced to drop out because of financial hardship.

“Some of us are privileged enough to have tuition and living paid for us and although we are no smarter than anyone else, we have a greater opportunity at the college experience, Grudu said.

“Some of my friends from less fortunate backgrounds haven’t been able to enjoy the college experience.  Instead, they are either working all the time to make ends-meet and attend classes, or they are in such a debt that they are forced to quit school altogether-they are always the ones with the most potential,” said Grudu.

Where is financial aid to the rescue?  The government promises assistance to students who truly seek equal opportunity, but support is falling short.  Whether a lack of follow-through or because the aid allotted barely covers more than cost of tuition, students are unable to ascertain the funds they need.