The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, September 4, 2009 Page: 6 of 36
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6 ADVERTISEMENT
Financial aid increases
while applications surge
by Hallie Jordan
Thresher Staff
Despite the economic downturn,
the Office of Financial Aid has in-
creased the amount of aid it is of-
fering students by several million
dollars this year, Student Financial
Services Director Anne Walker said.
Though the office is awarding
more aid than it did last year, Walk-
er said students do not have a sig-
nificantly greater need for aid than
in years past. Instead, more fami-
lies have special circumstances due
to the uncertain economy that are
causing more students to apply for
aid, she said.
Walker also said that the matric-
ulation of the largest freshmen class
ever at Rice, totaling over 970 new
students and transfers, combined
with the recent tuition hike and the
effect of the recession on many stu-
dents' families, has led to the higher
amount of aid offered.
"This year we were prepared and
knew [the need for more financial
aid] was coming," she said. "We an-
ticipated we would see more fami-
lies struggling with loss of jobs and
other factors."
Walker said the university
has seen the predicted uptick
in applications.
"We've seen about a 30 percent
increase in the number of students
filling out a FAFSA over the last two
years," Walker said, adding that
this increase reflects all students
who applied for aid during the
past year, whether or not they were
admitted to Rice.
Walker said this number is con-
sistent with national figures from
the United States Department of
Education, which has seen a
similar increase in FAFSA applica-
tions overall.
Walker listed several reasons the
numbers may be increasing. She
said the most obvious assumption
was that the economy was putting
more families out of work and re-
ducing their income, making more
students eligible for aid. The pro-
cess of filling out the FAFSA has
also been simplified over the past
two years. Walker said this could
encourage more students to fill out
the form.
Since Rice gives out mainly in-
stitutional funds — private money
from the university's endowment
and budget for financial aid —
instead of federal ones such as
Stafford loans, the university is able
to review 100 percent of the student
aid applications. Due to this, the Of-
fice of Financial Aid is able to read
and consider each student's appli-
cation and documents, even though
the U.S. government only requires a
universities to consider 30 percent
of applications for financial aid
each year.
A student can receive four dif-
ferent types of aid: grants, loans,
scholarships and work-study plans.
Rice caps the total amount of loans
a student can accrue over four years
at $10,000 and does not include any
loans as part of financial aid pack-
ages for students with family in-
comes below $80,000.
If the income situation of a student's
family changes during the course of the
year, Walker said, the financial aid of-
fice is ready to meet with them, work
through their needs and, in some cases,
reassess financial aid options for the
next semester.
"A student who didn't have need
in September may have need in
January," Walker said. "We want
to make sure we have the fund-
ing to support those families. The
university tries very hard to plan
and plan accurately the number
of anticipated students who might
have need."
Despite these assurances, some
students, such as Jones College sopho-
more Brianna Mulrooney, have noticed
a decrease in the amount of financial
aid offered.
"This year some of my aid was
cut even though my family situation
has not changed," Mulrooney said.
"I don't understand why except that
I know they have to try to spread the
money around."
Walker said making adjustments
to financial aid mid-semester is
tricky because by that point stu-
dents have usually paid their bill, so
they must wait until the following
semester to redetermine financial
aid status.
Walker said the importance of
evaluating every student's financial
needs carefully and equally is a pri-
ority of the Office of Financial Aid.
"We may miss something if we
don't look at every student indi-
vidually," Walker said. "Rice has
made sure that every student who
needs funding will get funding. And
that's part of being need blind, and
[of keeping] our commitment to stu-
dents that we are going to cover 100
percent of our need."
Friday, September4,2009
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TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY SERVICE
GRANT. AND TO APPLY. VISIT THE COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT CENTERS WEB SITE AT
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Fall 2009 Application Deadline:
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, September 4, 2009, newspaper, September 4, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443128/m1/6/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.