Purdue News
Purdue News
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Aid making college more affordableFinancial aid in the form of scholarships, grants and loans is a way of life - a necessity even - for most college students. The cost of higher education, coupled with the increasing likelihood that families haven't saved enough to pay for college, means that college-bound students must look at a variety of ways to pay for their schooling. For in-state students at Purdue, the estimated cost for the 1998-99 academic year is $10,984, including $3,564 in fees and the remainder for books, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses. Out-of-state students pay an additional $8,220 in tuition. Joyce Hall, director of the Division of Financial Aid, says more than 19,000 students on the West Lafayette Campus - 52 percent - received some sort of financial aid during the 1997-98 academic year.
That aid - more than $117 million in 1997-98 - comes in various forms:
Grants, such as scholarships and fellowships, do not need to be paid back. Work-study programs provide pay for work a student performs, usually on campus. Loans must be repaid with interest, but most financial institutions defer payment until the student graduates or leaves school. Even with the proliferation of programs, applying for many of the grants is relatively easy. It takes just one form to apply for need-based aid from the federal Pell Grant program, the state and the University - the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This should be filed between Jan. 1 and March 1 of the year the student will begin classes, Hall says. Merit-based awards have specific standards with regard to grade-point average, class rank and college board tests. Students who meet the standards for merit-based awards from the University are notified of their eligibility after they have been admitted, by either the Office of Admissions or the individual school or department. The number of scholarships offered by the University has nearly doubled over the past five years, according to Hall. "We have more than 900 scholarship accounts that are managed at Purdue," she says. "For the 1997-98 academic year, we awarded $6.1 million in Purdue scholarship money to 4,780 students." Outside scholarships, including private company or community-sponsored awards, totaled $4.8 million in the 1997-98 year, Hall says. Students also received thousands of dollars in aid in the form of loans and federal and state grants. While there are few all-inclusive financial aid awards - the Steven Beering scholarships and a few school scholarships pay for all fees and expenses - students can get aid from a variety of sources that often helps pay the bulk of the fees. "We encourage students to look to our page on the World Wide Web, where there are links to a loan processor and other financial aid home pages," Hall says. "Students can fill out an application that includes specific information about themselves that may qualify them for particular private and special- interest scholarships. Once they fill out the form and establish a mailbox, the scholarship match service lets students know about scholarships they may be eligible to apply for." The key, Hall says, is to follow up and apply for those grants and scholarships. Other services available on the division's Web page - include a calculator for financial aid eligibility, several suggestions on how to plan ahead to pay for college, and lists of resources and books that parents and students can turn to for advice on preparing for and paying for college. "We really want families to know that college is affordable," Hall says. "It seems that people look to the high end of college costs - those private colleges that charge upwards of $20,000 in fees and tuition - when, in reality, three-quarters of students don't attend those high-priced schools." Similarly, she says, a minority of students end up paying the full cost of attending Purdue. "Parents typically overestimate the cost of college," Hall says. "We need to alleviate the fears and let people know that there are ways to pay for that education. Stories by Julie Rosa
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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