A Failing Financial Aid System Keeps Students Out of College
Money for college is hard to find and isn't keeping up with rising costs
Reader Comments
Excellent Alternative to Help Pay for School
I would recommend children who are struggling to come up with the money to pay for school to join the military. This is an excellent way to pay for a four year degree.
If you are smart you can actually get your first two to four years of education out of the way by attending college while you serve the country. Right now the military is offering 100% tuition assistance while you are on active duty. (I only got 75% tuition assistance;but it did allow me to save my GI Bill until after I left)
Not only can you get money for college you will also be learning valuable skills that the civilian employers are looking for. Many civilian employers prefer to hire former military because they are disciplined and have an excellent work ethic.
Really!! This should be something to consider. I loved the time I spent in the military.
cost of higher education
I am a retired business consultant specialized in productivity. I believe that it is time that College and Unversities establish affordable tuition targets and then adjust their cost structures to meet those tuition targets. I am convinced that many educational institutions are inefficient and have plenty of opportunities to improve productivity. I wonder why US News and World Report doesn't challenge the cost structures and pricing of the American Colleges and Universities.
About community colleges
I do agree with Meagan. Yeah, community colleges help for the first 2 years, but that isn't going to solve the problem! The problem is: what happens when you transfer out? I'm by no means telling others to avoid community colleges or junior colleges, because that would be insane! I am actually a community college student myself, and it was the best decision that I made for myself. but mind everyone: even at the community college level, I have had to shell out over $4000 in tuition AND books my first two semesters, because the Financial aid office told me that my parents made TOO MUCH MONEY! I mean, if you think $25,000 a year combined between 2 60 year olds and an 18 year old is "too much money". There are some people here who seem to have the wrong idea about this article. The article isn't talking about people who didn't get to go to Harvard because financial aid wouldn't cover it. The article is talking about kids like me, who can barely afford a State University. It's just insensitive to push this aside and say, "Well, there's always a community college out there for you..." Well, what about afterwards? I am about to graduate in May with an AA, and I'm shaking at the prospect of financial aid at the next level.
About community colleges
I do agree with Meagan. Yeah, community colleges help for the first 2 years, but that isn't going to solve the problem! The problem is: what happens when you transfer out? I'm by no means telling others to avoid community colleges or junior colleges, because that would be insane! I am actually a community college student myself, and it was the best decision that I made for myself. but mind everyone: even at the community college level, I have had to shell out over $4000 in tuition AND books my first two semesters, because the Financial aid office told me that my parents made TOO MUCH MONEY! I mean, if you think $25,000 a year combined between 2 60 year olds and an 18 year old is "too much money". There are some people here who seem to have the wrong idea about this article. The article isn't talking about people who didn't get to go to Harvard because financial aid wouldn't cover it. The article is talking about kids like me, who can barely afford a State University. It's just insensitive to push this aside and say, "Well, there's always a community college out there for you..." Well, what about afterwards? I am about to graduate in May with an AA, and I'm shaking at the prospect of financial aid at the next level.
cost of higher education
There are thousands of junior and community colleges in this country that offer very affordable tuition and fees, room and board, and text books that also provide substantial financial award packages. Students don't need to go to a "big name" college to get a great education. Sometimes that education is within their own communities.
Our community college offers the whole package for less than $9,000.00 per year and that includes personal expenses! We offer associate degrees and over a hundred certificates related to jobs.
Look around. The best school might be right in your own area.
shirin of MO
I am Meagan Rudolph from the article and the deal with expensive colleges is that a local community college would not have the classes that i need for my major! I am a Range and Wildlife Major, the only a thing a community college would be able to do for me is to ge my basics down and that is it!!! and even then using that option the gas price almost makes up for the difference in cost! Also I am not going to settle for something that may be cheaper to get such as being a teacher just because I could get that at the community college. I want to do what I love and that means i have to go to a *small university* such as Texas A&M University-Kingsville. And yes you should fill out the FASFA because it allows you to get some garanteed financial aid. Without the FASFA I wouldn't have gotten the little bit of money that I did to help me pay!!!
literuare
xford uni
Another industry getting rich off the baby boomers
I agree with the poster who said that the problem is not with the financial aid, but with the ridiculous ascent of college tuition during the past decade. It is obscene. These universities are sitting on huge endowments. There is no reason for the level of tuition increases that have occurred, other than ‘they can.’ In my opinion, it is just another industry that is getting rich off the baby boomers. Since we aspire to give our children the college education we never had, or better than the one we had, the shear number of kids applying to schools is driving up the price. As long as colleges are allowed to raise tuition unchecked while hoarding millions, sometimes billions of dollars in endowments, the problem will escalate until we are crushed by the whole thing.
The system penalizes those who are fiscally conservative, as well. Those who lived below their means and saved are penalized over those who spent every last dime they earned through the years. Something is wrong with this picture, in my opinion.
I have no problem paying for my kids’ college education. I really do not expect a handout. But, the way I see it, I’m paying the level of tuition I am to subsidize someone else’s college education, and that is what I resent. Tuition should be the same for everyone across the board. We saved our money, each working, took reasonable vacations through the years, and received not one red cent in any kind of aid, merit, need or otherwise. The government does not owe you a Harvard education. Where did the idea come from that says that everyone deserves the best education money can buy? You should go to the school you can afford. Period. If that is a community college for 2 years, what’s wrong with that?
rising cost of college
I graduated from Harvard in 1978. The total cost of 4 years there was $4k+$5K+$6K+$7K = $22,000. I started my first job at $535/week=$27,800/year. In other words, my starting salary was 26% more than the total cost of college. My husband's mid-career income is barely twice the cost of ONE year.
A Failing Financial Aid System Keeps Students Out of College
Excellent expose'! Trouble is - there is ANOTHER factor keeping hardworking, HONEST people out of US colleges - a kind of "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" between college financial aid staff, US Dept Of Ed officials and SOME students.
When there's an insufficient number of seats in any course (part of the intended 'program of study') and there are no other eligible classes available for qualified students to take - financial aid staff offer to 'park' these students in alternate academic programs - taking classes which have nothing to do with their intended majors until such time a seat becomes available in that intended major.
In-order to circumvent federal and state laws college officials 'officially' change the students' majors with the students signing legal 'Letters of Intent' submitted (along with FAFSA documents) to the US Dept Of Education - making them 'qualified' to receive federal/state aid for a NEW program of study.
After waiting a semester or two (occupying a seat); the students re-apply to their original intended 'program of study', take-up where they left off and (hopefully) graduate to good paying jobs.
This scheme allows THESE students to delay repayment of education loans because they're officially 'enrolled'. It also keeps them in contention for that prized classroom seat.
A problem arises when honest students refuse to take part because 'offering a false or fraudulent instrument for filing' (to a federal official) is a felony crime! These students find their academic records altered by officials who ignore their own institution's statutes and violate federal/state civil/criminal statutes in-order to force the honest students to quit. (They ruled my 3.85qpa too low to qualify for aid under the federal 'SAP' statute so I was denied ANY aid and dropped-out.)
And pity the poor honest student who believes in the US Justice System as both civil rights lawyers and Govt law enforcers turn a blind eye to their civil rights and criminal complaints (filed in a timely manner) - even when supported by documentation signed BY the offending college officials!
I have a a signed letter from a vice-president of my (former) SUNY college making me the offer to take part in this scheme. When I filed complaints with NYS AG Andrew Cuomo and the US Attorney in White Plains - Cuomo wrote back claiming he couldn't investgate any allegations against SUNY due to a 'conflict of interest'. THEN I found a video on YouTube.com (posted by NancyPelosi) in-which he testifed before Congress that he already HAD investigated SUNY over (yet to be 'illegal') 'Preferred Lender' practices.
The US Dept Of Ed staff wrote back that such practices are ".. the perogative of the financial aid officer".
Someone on the US Attorney's staff yelled at me (over the telephone) "We're not going to be your attorney! Find someone else or do it yourself!" and sent me an email with instructions for self-representation in federal court.
