Monday, April 25, 2011
Associated Press
COLUMBUS
Officials at public universities in Ohio are seeing more applications for student financial aid, in line with an increase across the nation prompted in part by troubles with the economy.
Nationally, the number of students who have filed forms for federal financial aid for the upcoming school year has increased by about 1 million compared with the same time last year, The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday.
The number of Ohio State University students who have applied for financial aid for next year is up about 10,600 from two years ago, according to the newspaper.
The number of students filing for federal aid for this school year was up 22 percent from two years ago, Ohio State financial aid director Diane Stemper said.
“Many people who used to have the resources to send their children to college have lost their jobs or been downsized,” Stemper said. “Declining home and stock values, coupled with rising food and gas prices, are also taking a toll.”
The number of Ohio State students in Columbus who get Pell Grants, which provides federal, need-based assistance, also has increased, Stemper said. The factors that have influenced that increase include more students from low-income families attending college and changes that made more families eligible for the grants.
Her counterpart at Ohio University, Sondra Williams, said the school in Athens saw federal financial aid applications increase by 12 percent from last school year to this school year and expects another increase for next school year. The number of students receiving subsidized loans also has grown.
“We’ve heard the same stories: that a parent has lost a job, that their financial situation has changed, that they just don’t have enough money,” Williams told the newspaper.
As some students deal with tighter resources, public universities in Ohio could increase tuition by up to 3.5 percent under the state budget proposed by Republican Gov. John Kasich.