I leconomy, it might seem that
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t
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i
*n education
s college tuition climbs
against
tr,. titarop ol a struggling leconomy, it might seem that
higher education is out of reach for most families. Yet, according to an annual study
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income for tuition to public colleges, and
opportunities, about the aid that got
32 percent for private ones.
away. Most of the time, the reason is that students failed to apply or they missed the deadline." John Gladstone, associate academic vice president for enrollment services at
Despite this, experts say there's plenty of financial help available, as long as you
know where to look. "There is more conducted by the National Center for financial aid out there than ever," says Public Poliry and Higher Education, the number of Ohio residents enrolling in college-level classes is growing. In the same study, however, Ohio flunked the group's test of college affordability. The findings indicate that an Ohio family needs about 29 percent of its income to pay for an education at a fouryear public campus, and a whopping 54 percent at a private university. In topranking states, on the other hand, families paid an average of 18 percent of their
Natalia Hart, director of student financial aid at The Ohio State University. "With
increasing enrollments, Congress has done a good job of keeping up." The first step in accessing these dollars is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Timing is key, because funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hart stresses how important it is to apply for aid and to apply on time. "All too often, students ask me about missed SPECIAL
SECT]ON
John Carroll University, a private insti-
tution in University Heights, agrees. "If I had to give only one piece of advice, I say that people should fill out the FAFSA as soon after fanuary I as they
would
can," he says.
To maximize the financial-aid package, Rhonda McKinnon, assistant vice president of student and community programs at Cuyahoga Community College, suggests that people filI out the FAFSA even if they have not yet chosen their col-
-E-Fi=,;..1:;i i:e r;; ;:;: : edUCAtXOn
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\ lege. "If people haven't decided where they want to go to school, the form still allows them to list six schools," she says. Hart recommends filling out the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
by borrowing up
Students begin
to
$2,625 for freshmen year, but by senior year they can borrow up to $5,500. Need-
based grants include the Ohio Instructional Grant, the federal Pell Grant and the federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.
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Typically, a combination of grants, Tt7hen the student receives financial VV ,ia fiom a college or university, loans, scholarships and work-study Gladstone advises the recipient
to
make sure the award is renewable each year. Also, he says to be sure to filI out the renewal FAFSA each year to avoid losing the aid. Need-based dollars typically come
from loans, grants and federal workstudy, with awards ranging from $2,000 $2,500 per year. Gladstone says the most commonly approved loan is the
dollars make up a financial-aid package. Scholarship money can cushion the sticker shock, and is worth the time it takes to research sources
of such aid.
"To earn merit dollars, students want to show they are good citizens as well as good students, whether it be through
in
community service or
to
involvement
Stafford, which can be either need- or
extracurricular activities," Gladstone says. This opens up new opportunities to stu-
non-need based. Loan amounts rise
dents who may not have thought of
students become
as
upperclassmen.
themselves as scholarship material, peo-
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ple who may not have been high school football stars or class presidents. Generally, grants and scholarships come from individual institutions, while
other merit-based awards include
Ohio Academic Scholarship and the Ohio
Student Choice Grant. The latter is offered to all Ohio residents who attend private schoois full time. Currently, Gladstone says this grant averages about $1,000 annually per award.
(6 O) (0
IJ. ;:. rp i r: xperts say to be wary of financial-aid services that you have to pay for,
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.9
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o
the
whether it is a financial adviser, account-
ant or an online scholarship
service.
be kept confidentiai and the service should
just as easily be high school guidfree from for gleaned
allow you to submit a profile of yourself so that the service can contact you automatically when scholarships fit your pro-
Often, these services can
ance counselors, college advisers or free scholarship search engines. "I am not a fan of third-party financial advisers, which can cost any'where from
filel' She recommends www.fastweb.com, www.octameron.com and www.collegeboard.com as online sources for scholar-
$500 to $2,000. There is a wealth of ships. information out there and most of it is free," says Gladstone, who is skeptical of i**:'etiri-i::,.!,:,r:+;;:th.*,it:i**'i'*.9" online scholarship search engines, even f n the economic downturn, many PeoI ple are opting to go to community colthe free ones. leges, where enrollment has risen drarecommends hand, the other Hart, on This year, Cuyahoga matically. only but searches, online scholarship reports its largest "They College Community met. are criteria when certain fall enrollment in percentage increase should your information free, should be SPECIAL
SECTION
-E
ne*
i
€ f s*+t
t** education
since 1975, while other community col-
simiiar surges. McKinnon that many students find the $66 per credit hour tuition so affordable that
leges have had says
they sometimes opt to begin their education at Cuyahoga Community College
and then transfer the credits to other universities.
However,
it is also important not
to
assume that a private-school education is
out of reach if that is what you really want. Allison Bower, a junior at |ohn Carroll University, received a financial award of $20,000, including both repayable
and
nonrepayable
aid.
(Tuition, room and board total $25,746 per year at John Carroll). Interestingly, however, Bower received more money from this private university than she did from the state schools where she applied. College-bound students like Bower may find that financial-aid packages at private institutions can bring the total tab closer to parity with public universities, tipping the scales in the private schools'favor. a
SPECIAL
SECTION
q
t
I
A
i
*n education
s college tuition climbs
against
tr,. titarop ol a struggling leconomy, it might seem that
higher education is out of reach for most families. Yet, according to an annual study
N
o o c\l
o ^o
C
L
o o o
o
a
o
C .N (0
o)
([
E
I
o
ffi
income for tuition to public colleges, and
opportunities, about the aid that got
32 percent for private ones.
away. Most of the time, the reason is that students failed to apply or they missed the deadline." John Gladstone, associate academic vice president for enrollment services at
Despite this, experts say there's plenty of financial help available, as long as you
know where to look. "There is more conducted by the National Center for financial aid out there than ever," says Public Poliry and Higher Education, the number of Ohio residents enrolling in college-level classes is growing. In the same study, however, Ohio flunked the group's test of college affordability. The findings indicate that an Ohio family needs about 29 percent of its income to pay for an education at a fouryear public campus, and a whopping 54 percent at a private university. In topranking states, on the other hand, families paid an average of 18 percent of their
Natalia Hart, director of student financial aid at The Ohio State University. "With
increasing enrollments, Congress has done a good job of keeping up." The first step in accessing these dollars is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Timing is key, because funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hart stresses how important it is to apply for aid and to apply on time. "All too often, students ask me about missed SPECIAL
SECT]ON
John Carroll University, a private insti-
tution in University Heights, agrees. "If I had to give only one piece of advice, I say that people should fill out the FAFSA as soon after fanuary I as they
would
can," he says.
To maximize the financial-aid package, Rhonda McKinnon, assistant vice president of student and community programs at Cuyahoga Community College, suggests that people filI out the FAFSA even if they have not yet chosen their col-
-E-Fi=,;..1:;i i:e r;; ;:;: : edUCAtXOn
*
\ .;.x,.
\ lege. "If people haven't decided where they want to go to school, the form still allows them to list six schools," she says. Hart recommends filling out the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
by borrowing up
Students begin
to
$2,625 for freshmen year, but by senior year they can borrow up to $5,500. Need-
based grants include the Ohio Instructional Grant, the federal Pell Grant and the federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.
N
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o
-o E
o o o
o
a
o
c N
(s O) (s
E ,9
o
Typically, a combination of grants, Tt7hen the student receives financial VV ,ia fiom a college or university, loans, scholarships and work-study Gladstone advises the recipient
to
make sure the award is renewable each year. Also, he says to be sure to filI out the renewal FAFSA each year to avoid losing the aid. Need-based dollars typically come
from loans, grants and federal workstudy, with awards ranging from $2,000 $2,500 per year. Gladstone says the most commonly approved loan is the
dollars make up a financial-aid package. Scholarship money can cushion the sticker shock, and is worth the time it takes to research sources
of such aid.
"To earn merit dollars, students want to show they are good citizens as well as good students, whether it be through
in
community service or
to
involvement
Stafford, which can be either need- or
extracurricular activities," Gladstone says. This opens up new opportunities to stu-
non-need based. Loan amounts rise
dents who may not have thought of
students become
as
upperclassmen.
themselves as scholarship material, peo-
SPECIAL
SECTlO
,nt' "*#ii ff,j
.f,t, l.rri
' :,
spetrinx seet lan
edumtion
#
F'
N
o o
N 0)
-o
E
c)
o o
o
a 0)
c N
ple who may not have been high school football stars or class presidents. Generally, grants and scholarships come from individual institutions, while
other merit-based awards include
Ohio Academic Scholarship and the Ohio
Student Choice Grant. The latter is offered to all Ohio residents who attend private schoois full time. Currently, Gladstone says this grant averages about $1,000 annually per award.
(6 O) (0
IJ. ;:. rp i r: xperts say to be wary of financial-aid services that you have to pay for,
*ae€i*.,na.::
E
{":
.9
lJ l-I
o
the
whether it is a financial adviser, account-
ant or an online scholarship
service.
be kept confidentiai and the service should
just as easily be high school guidfree from for gleaned
allow you to submit a profile of yourself so that the service can contact you automatically when scholarships fit your pro-
Often, these services can
ance counselors, college advisers or free scholarship search engines. "I am not a fan of third-party financial advisers, which can cost any'where from
filel' She recommends www.fastweb.com, www.octameron.com and www.collegeboard.com as online sources for scholar-
$500 to $2,000. There is a wealth of ships. information out there and most of it is free," says Gladstone, who is skeptical of i**:'etiri-i::,.!,:,r:+;;:th.*,it:i**'i'*.9" online scholarship search engines, even f n the economic downturn, many PeoI ple are opting to go to community colthe free ones. leges, where enrollment has risen drarecommends hand, the other Hart, on This year, Cuyahoga matically. only but searches, online scholarship reports its largest "They College Community met. are criteria when certain fall enrollment in percentage increase should your information free, should be SPECIAL
SECTION
-E
ne*
i
€ f s*+t
t** education
since 1975, while other community col-
simiiar surges. McKinnon that many students find the $66 per credit hour tuition so affordable that
leges have had says
they sometimes opt to begin their education at Cuyahoga Community College
and then transfer the credits to other universities.
However,
it is also important not
to
assume that a private-school education is
out of reach if that is what you really want. Allison Bower, a junior at |ohn Carroll University, received a financial award of $20,000, including both repayable
and
nonrepayable
aid.
(Tuition, room and board total $25,746 per year at John Carroll). Interestingly, however, Bower received more money from this private university than she did from the state schools where she applied. College-bound students like Bower may find that financial-aid packages at private institutions can bring the total tab closer to parity with public universities, tipping the scales in the private schools'favor. a
SPECIAL
SECTION
q
