Tom Dillon, 19, a pre-pharmacy major at the University of Connecticut, is carrying $52,000 in student loans. And he’s just getting started. When he gets his pharmacy doctorate in four years, he expects his debt to exceed $150,000. Dillon’s been drawn to pharmacy since age 5, when he found out he had epilepsy.

Source: USA Today > Keep Reading

No matter whom you talk to about getting financial aid for college, the mantra’s the same: File the FAFSA. It’s not that bad.

The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is a student’s ticket to many grants, scholarships, work study and loans for college.

When parents are looking at an annual price tag upward of $30,000 in tuition, fees, room, board, books, travel and personal expenses for private education and nearly $20,000 for the same at a public institution for the next four or five years — not to mention the effect of future tuition hikes — any financial aid, big or small, may sound appealing.

Source: Valley News Dispatch > Keep Reading

The US House of Representatives recently passed a bill that cuts $2.2 billion in vital funds needed to administer federal student loan programs. The bill also outlines several other measures that will impact college students and their families, including caps on Pell Grant awards.

The Pell Grant is the largest grant program which is awarded to undergraduate students and based upon financial need. Many students from a low income background would not be able to attend college without the Pell Grant awards. The grant awards vary in amount from $400 to $4,050 per student.

Currently the maximum Pell Grant a student can receive is $4,050 per year. Despite the usual cost of living and inflation increases congress has decided not to raise this limit for the fourth consecutive year.

Initially the House had promised to increase the maximum Pell Grants for low-income students by $100. Tom Kiley, spokesman for Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) expressed his disappointment with the bill in regard to the Pell Grants for low income students

“Once again, we missed an opportunity to raise the Pell Grant,” Kiley said. “That is a glaring omission.”

While most college students were on winter breaks, the US Senate was debating over a drastic reduction in student loan opportunities. On December 21, 2005 in a 51-50 vote the US Senate passed a bill which included $12 billion in student loan cuts from the federal budget. Vice President Cheney cast the tie-breaking vote, while five Republicans sided with the Democrats who unanimously opposed the bill.

A second blow was wielded this week when the House passed a bill also in favor of the student loan cuts. While 13 moderate Republicans joined House Democrats in a no vote, not enough opposition was gained and the bill passed 216 to 214.

The drastic measure eliminates $2.2 billion in critical funds used to administer the federal student loan programs. Additional changes included a new 1% insurance fee that student borrowers must pay to guarantee agencies and raising the interest rate cap for parents who take out federal education loans for their children from 7.9 percent to 8.5 percent.

The bill outlines a total of $39 billion in budget cuts which besides the student loan cuts, drastically reduces Medicaid and Medicare programs for low income and senior Americans.

“The President spoke last night about the importance of education to sustaining America’s competitiveness in today’s global economy. Now, less than 24 hours later, this House has enacted the largest raid on student aid in history even while millions of American families are struggling to afford the rising cost of college,” said Rep. Ron Kind, a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

While opposition to the measure has been strong, Republican leadership ensured that these critical aid programs have been cut. The measure is expected to be signed by President Bush next week.