The U.S. Senate passed earlier this month the first decrease in federal assistance to education in more than a decade, and more students than ever could be losing a good portion of their financial aid as a result.
These cutbacks, combined with the increasing cost of attending college, have left students looking for ways to make up for that funding gap. In the past five years alone, the average tuition at a public university has increased by 57 percent.
One poll done by The Next Step Magazine - a college, career and life-planning publication for high school students - found one third of parents said they have saved no money for college and expect their children to foot the entire bill. Another 59 percent said they have saved less than $50,000, the estimated cost of attending a public university for four years, according to The College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2004.
Fifty-five percent of parents surveyed also said they expect their children to share the financial burden. This means students will be looking for grants, scholarships, loans and part-time jobs to help pay for their educations.
According to Terri Mangione, senior associate vice provost for Student Academic Records and Financial Services, 65 percent of students at UB receive some kind of financial aid and 30 percent receive Pell Grants. With the federal cuts in education spending, Pell Grants to low- and moderate-income families will stay at $4,050 for the fourth year in a row.
With the federal cuts there will be less money coming back from the Perkins Loans program, compounding the strain of increased enrollment.
As college tuitions consistently increase, students will be looking for more ways to pay for their educations.
"More and more students are taking out alternative loans which are private loans through banks," Mangione said. "They're designated for academic purposes so they have a slightly lower interest rate," she said.
For some students, loans are, and have been for a while now, the best available option.
"It's all by myself," said Sean Parlapiano, a junior aerospace engineering major. "All loans."
Other students use a combination of loans and scholarships to pay for school.
"My parents help me out, and I do have loans also and scholarships," said Kelly McCorry, a senior mechanical engineering major.
For eligible students, academic scholarships are one of the best resources available for students to pay for school.
"There are academic merit-based scholarships that are normally given to new students. There are also small amounts of endowed scholarships that are given to students in very specific situations specified by the donor," said Mangione. "We have financial aid advisors that look to award all of that money every year."
Many students use a combination of these methods to pay for school. Since UB is a less expensive school, parents are more willing to chip in and help pay for their child's education here than at a more expensive school.
Mangione also talked about scholarships from national organizations as well as local ones, most of which are normally awarded based on essay writing. The local scholarships, although they don't normally offer as much money, have less people competing for them.
"While the dollar amounts are not huge," said Mangione on local scholarships, "we see students putting in a lot of work and it amounts to a few thousand dollars."
Besides taking out loans or earning scholarships, some students use their parents' assistance to help pay for their tuition.
"It's a partial scholarship and the rest my parents pay for from savings accounts," said Jeff Lehman, a sophomore civil engineering major. "I think kids from around here come to UB because their parents will pay for it."
Jason Meek, a junior media studies major, said that his parents wanted him to go to UB because it was cheaper.
Part-time jobs on and off campus and work-study are also routes that many students take to pay for college. Jake Sneva, coordinator of the part-time employment program at UB, said there isn't just one way to find work on campus.
The Career Services department's Web site offers a very comprehensive list of on-campus jobs.
"Students should talk to the offices they're really interested in working for and make sure they talk to their friends," Sneva said. "Ask if the place they work (at) is looking for extra help. Also talk to faculty you know on campus. See if they know of any positions."
According to Sneva, students should start early when looking for jobs on campus so they have the widest selection to choose from. Jobs must be applied for and include office work, campus dining, work with the athletic department and in the libraries.
"Clearly, the best time to find a job is in August. Athletics hires a little before then because they need people to set up for practices and such," said Dr. Dan Ryan, director of Career Services.
Whereas some students rely on their parents to subsidize their college expenses, a few, like sophomore business major Julie Boyle, get more than just help.
Boyle, who is taking classes at UB while she takes a year off from George Washington University, said that at GW -- a much more expensive school than UB -- financial aid is hard to come by.
"My dad just put it on his credit card," Boyle said. "I came here because it was close and cheap."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
