The way I see it, the main job of financial aid officers should be to help the newly accepted and current students find a way to afford to go to their colleges or universities. In some universities and colleges, this is the way it is.

However, there are some colleges that actually plan that some students will not receive financial aid packages that will allow them to enroll.  This is called financial aid leveraging, and it maximizes the amount of money paid by students, while balancing that with the goal of meeting enrollment goals.  Because of this, richer students, who can afford to pay their Cost of Attendance (COA) will get more spots at the college than they would if ability to pay didn’t play a role in who would enroll.  Facts of life, folks.

Why Colleges Leverage Financial Aid

With colleges losing big chunks of their endowments when the stock market tanked, they’ve got to make it up somewhere.  Some cut costs; some raise tuition and fees.  (CNN recently reported that The Board of Regents of The University of California system just raised the undergraduate tuition 32 percent over the next two years.)  Others cut costs AND raise tuition, and some leverage financial aid.  There are even companies that help colleges and universities figure out how to do leverage financial aid  so they will get the tuition income plus enrollment figures they want.  It’s a rough world out there.

Christian College Parents to the Rescue

This is why you need to get reliable information when facing the daunting task of selecting the right college, applying to colleges, and finding financial aid for college.  A woman I met in, of all places, a mammogram waiting room, told me that someone had asked her for $900 to find scholarships for her child.  Totally unnecessary!

Financial Aid Ebooks Coming Soon!

You can get all the information you need on the website and in our upcoming ebooks on financial aid.  And it won’t cost you anywhere near $900!  Actually it will cost you a whole lot less.  Be sure to opt-in to our mailing list to get notified when the ebooks are available.

Blessings,

Bonnie

On a personal note, the most important thing that’s happened to me is that my son Chris got married. It was a beautiful wedding and my son and his new wife Nicole are very happy. Here’s a photo of the lovely couple.

In addition to my son’s wedding, I’ve been writing two ebooks on financial aid for students, as well as working on some other projects for Christian College Parents. The writing is going well, but it hasn’t left much time for other things, like my blog!

Several things over the last few weeks have caught my attention, however, and I wanted to share them with you.

FIRST THE GOOD NEWS:

President Bush has signed legislation to help parents and college students with their student loans.

HIGHLIGHTS of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act:

· Monies received by institutions from selling their student loans must be used to provide more loans for students

· Temporarily removes medical bill payment delinquencies up to 180 days as a reason to reject parent applying for PLUS loans for their children’s tuition

· New subsidized Stafford loans interest rate dropped to 6%

And that’s just the beginning!

· The new maximum Pell Grant scholarship is now $4,731, up $490 from last year. This is the first in a series of increases to eventually raise the grant by $1090 by 2012.

· The interest rates for unconsolidated student loans taken out before July 1, 2006 has now dropped to 4.21 percent. You can get a fixed rate of 4.25 percent and combine all your student loans into one payment by getting a consolidation loan now. (Those loans taken out after July 1, 2006 won’t be eligible for this rate because they are at a fixed rate of 6.8 percent.)

· Even if your local bank has stopped issuing consolidation loans, you can still get one through the federal government’s Direct Loan program.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS:

Although government undergraduate student loans should be available to people who have filled out the FAFSA and qualify, private loans and loans through the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), available to parents and graduate students are harder to come by.

Why is that?

· PLUS loans require a credit check, something the undergraduate student loans through government programs do not. Higher credit scores are required for these loans as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.

· Credit score requirements for private loans will be even higher since they are not guaranteed by the federal government.

· Lenders make more money on loans for four or more years of college than they make on loans for two years of college.

This means that people with less than wonderful credit scores, low to moderate income, and/or plan to attend trade schools or community colleges will be the ones that have a harder time paying for college.

These are the very people who need the most help. If we want an educated citizenry with the knowledge and skills needed in today’s world, we need to make education easier to get, not harder.

If you are still trying to figure out how to finance this fall’s college education, here are some things to try:

· Contact your financial aid office. If you have not filled out the FAFSA, ask them if your child could still get government aid, if you did fill it out now.

· Ask the financial aid office if any scholarships or grants have become available that your child might qualify for.

· Ask if your child could get in the work/study program.

· Ask them if you could pay with an installment program over several months.

· PRAY

I don’t guarantee that any of those options will result in new funding, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

What about you?

Have you been affected by the student loan crunch? If so, please leave me feedback on how you’re coping with the situation.

Blessings,

Bonnie