The exact number is unknown, but I feel secure in saying over 50 percent of students at UNC Charlotte receive some form of financial aid, whether it be in the form of a loan or Pell Grant. Those 10,000 plus people are going to be in for a tough time the next time they go to fill out a FAFSA form.
The U.S. government is estimating a $6 billion deficit next year in the FAFSA budget. With the economy free falling into a crash, money is becoming a scarce commodity.
This time last year I would have bet my car that Wachovia would be standing strong, and now not only is that no longer true, but even media like the Charlotte Observer is feeling the strains of tightened budgets and downsized departments. Creative Loafing is actually filing for bankruptcy.
The job market is not looking too promising right now. So what do all of those companies going under have to do with the government not having enough money for financial aid?
As the economy bankrupts more and more companies, more and more people will lose their jobs, making more and more lower income families, resulting in more and more students qualifying for financial assistance.
But as more and more students apply for financial aid, the FAFSA budget cannot accommodate them. The inflation of students in need will overpower the budget in no time.
There are already restrictions to who can receive subsidized loans or Pell Grants, but when so many people qualify for it, there’s not enough to go around.
Left with no grants or tuition assistance, FAFSA will have to resort to loans or students will have to borrow from elsewhere. Finally, those loans feed back into the nation’s growing debt and the whole thing starts all over again.
We are in the middle of a vicious, self-propelled spiral. What are students supposed to do when tuition and fees keep rising and financial aid dwindles? Not going to college?
I guess we could always hold down a 35-hour workweek to make the bills while managing to juggle 12 to 15 hour credit semesters.
Now students do manage to pay their way through college, but if they are working all the time, when can they enjoy the experience of being at college? Where’s the students’ bailout plan to ensure we can continue to learn and get the jobs we want?
Currently, there is talk about modifying the FAFSA forms, requirements and process, but let’s look at this realistically.
If there isn’t enough money in the department to begin with, and you spend money to reformat everything, how is that going to result in helping more kids afford college?
There are too many people in need right now. In fact, the demand for aid is probably the only thing in our economy currently on the rise.
Students need something from their government; if the economy is doomed, let’s spend the last remaining money on the people who are going to end up turning it around.
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