Local colleges report increase in financial aid requests

More students at area colleges this year are asking for larger financial aid packages because of family job losses, pay decreases or other changes in circumstances.

But the good news, according to local colleges, is that students still can find enough federal, state and local funds to meet their needs despite the economic downturn.

A closer look at the financial aid picture for resident undergraduate students at area colleges this year:

• Liberty University
2009-10 tuition: $15,992
Average total cost: $23,198
Average financial aid package: $15,921
Total amount of aid processed: $176 million

• Lynchburg College
2009-10 tuition: $27,980
Average total cost: $35,895
Average financial aid package: $19,650
Total amount of aid processed: $35 million

• Randolph College
2009-10 tuition: $27,920
Average total cost: $38,145
Average financial aid package: $27,535
Total amount of aid processed: $10 million

• Sweet Briar College
2009-10 tuition: $28,860
Average total cost: $39,795
Average financial aid package: $21,016
Total amount of aid processed: $17.6 million

For more on costs at local colleges, see Area colleges raise tuition, but not by much

“The most common (financial factors) right now are underemployment, unemployment, and medical and dental expenses,” said Robert Ritz, executive director of financial aid at Liberty University. “… It can be complicated, but we try to walk the families through it so we can see if we can improve their eligibility.”

Each year, students who hope to receive financial aid must submit an application to the federal government — called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — to determine their eligibility. The amount for which students qualify is based largely on family income and the cost of the institution they attend.

Sometimes, a family’s circumstances will change and with that, a student’s eligibility.

Then, students may ask their college to re-evaluate their needs.

“Those requests have doubled,” Ritz said; LU responded by adding a full-time staff position to handle all the appeals.

Lynchburg College, Randolph College and Sweet Briar College also have seen increases in students asking to have their eligibility re-calculated.

“In January, families were coming forward with job losses by parents,” said Bobbi Carpenter, director of financial aid at SBC. “Late spring brought a shift when parents came forward because of reductions in salaries as companies tried to stay afloat.”

Those students who qualify for more aid have a number of options beyond loans, said Michelle Davis, director of financial aid at LC.

Although the state Tuition Assistance Grant decreased this year by about $200 per student, the maximum award through the federal Pell Grant increased from $4,730 to $5,350, she said.

“There are going to be more students exercising those loans to offset the cost, I think, because of the challenging economy,” Davis said.

Last fall when the economic crisis hit, many speculated that loans would become nearly impossible to get for students who have low credit ratings, Davis said.

The financial aid office took scores of calls from students concerned that they would lose their aid packages.

“There was confusion about which loans would be available,” Davis said.

While some private lenders did change eligibility processes, effectively eliminating students from qualifying, she said, federal and state funds still are available, as is tuition assistance from colleges.

“We all may find it more of a challenge, but the resources are there,” Davis said.

Some colleges also have tried to increase the amount of scholarships for students.

Liberty, for example, increased its student aid by $400,000 for the upcoming year, Ritz said.

In the spring semester, the Randolph College community of faculty, staff, students and alumnae raised more than $49,000 for scholarships. The school also recently received a $1.4 million bequest for scholarships.

According to a survey of 350 private colleges by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, institutional student aid budgets for 2009-10 increased by an average of 9 percent over the previous year.

John White, dean of enrollment and financial services at RC, said that other than a “slight up-tick” in the number of students whose monetary picture has changed, the financial aid office operates largely the same as previous years.

“We’ve always tried to strive to be affordable and try to educate (students) about the options,” he said.

Ritz said not all students are aware that they may have their financial needs re-evaluated based on special circumstances. Some don’t know, he said, until they come in to the financial aid office thinking that they have to drop out, but leaving with another option.

“There are pieces of good news for families,” he said. “If they’re applying for loans, they’ve been getting them.”