Colleges Offer a Helping Hand to Struggling Students
Posted 14 Jan, 2009
It seems like every day brings unhappy news about the recession–but happily, today is not one of those 
days for college-bound students! That’s because colleges across the country want to help cash-strapped families by bringing them some good news.
Helping Hands, Far and Wide
With even the admissions process being affected by the recession, college officials are well aware of the financial struggles many families are facing. Luckily for college-bound students, they have responded with a variety of plans meant to help today’s students fund college.
Below is a sampling of plans from just a few colleges and universities:
- Making Up the Difference. Many schools have set out to fulfill the financial need of their applicants. Northern Illinois University, for example, has promised to meet tuition costs of Pell-grant-eligible students whose need is not covered by government aid. Other schools, like Georgia’s Agnes Scott College, are offering aid that reduces the cost of attendance by nearly half!
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- Making Cuts. As they attempt to keep their tuition increases at a minimum, some schools choose to make cutbacks around campus. Agnes Scott, for example, is cutting down on their professional development (for staff, not for students) to help keep their students’ cost of attendance down.
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- Raising Funds. Other schools, like Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota, are putting on fund raisers to help beef up their coffers. They plan to use the funds to help out low and middle income students. (They have also raised the income cap on one of their programs from $75,000 to $100,000 per year.)
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- Educating… About the Cost of Education. As more and more families begin to worry about the “sticker price” of college, many universities are working harder than ever to educate students and parents about their financial aid policies. The University of Pennsylvania, for one, has not only sent out informative letters to almost 200,000 potential applicants, but also set up a video on their financial aid site about the Stafford loan.
So as you prepare for upcoming college bills, don’t forget to do your homework! Call the financial aid office of your student’s school and check the school’s website to learn about how they may be helping families meet college costs this year, and look for other ways that your family can save, including referring to past posts on this blog!
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo: piggy bank 1 by svilen001
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Related Posts
It seems like every day brings unhappy news about the recession–but happily, today is not one of those days for college-bound students! That’s because colleges across the country want to help cash-strapped families by bringing them some good news.
Helping Hands, Far and Wide
With even the admissions process being affected by the recession, college officials are well aware of the financial struggles many families are facing. Luckily for college-bound students, they have responded with a variety of plans meant to help today’s students fund college.
Below is a sampling of plans from just a few colleges and universities:
- Making Up the Difference. Many schools have set out to fulfill the financial need of their applicants. Northern Illinois University, for example, has promised to meet tuition costs of Pell-grant-eligible students whose need is not covered by government aid. Other schools, like Georgia’s Agnes Scott College, are offering aid that reduces the cost of attendance by nearly half!
. - Making Cuts. As they attempt to keep their tuition increases at a minimum, some schools choose to make cutbacks around campus. Agnes Scott, for example, is cutting down on their professional development (for staff, not for students) to help keep their students’ cost of attendance down.
. - Raising Funds. Other schools, like Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota, are putting on fund raisers to help beef up their coffers. They plan to use the funds to help out low and middle income students. (They have also raised the income cap on one of their programs from $75,000 to $100,000 per year.)
. - Educating… About the Cost of Education. As more and more families begin to worry about the “sticker price” of college, many universities are working harder than ever to educate students and parents about their financial aid policies. The University of Pennsylvania, for one, has not only sent out informative letters to almost 200,000 potential applicants, but also set up a video on their financial aid site about the Stafford loan.
So as you prepare for upcoming college bills, don’t forget to do your homework! Call the financial aid office of your student’s school and check the school’s website to learn about how they may be helping families meet college costs this year, and look for other ways that your family can save, including referring to past posts on this blog!
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo: piggy bank 1 by svilen001
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
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