More college students need financial aid

Across the country many of today’s college graduates will earn a degree and a lot of debt

By Deidra Lee

Across America many new high school graduates have their sights set on higher education at one of America’s 1700 public colleges and universities. Traditionally tuition and room and board at state-supported colleges and universities has been more affordable than private ones, which makes them a draw for students, but the affordability of public colleges and universities is vanishing. As a result, students are turning to financial aid, which means that the average first-time college graduate has approximately $20,000 of financial aid debt.

A recent graduate Virginia Commonwealth University, Gyvonia Gunter, views financial aid as a necessity for today’s college students. “I feel that because of inflation and today’s skyrocketing costs for education it’s absolutely necessary to use financial aid to fund one’s education,” said Gunter.

According to a non-profit organization, The College Board, which works to aid students in college success, the average annual average undergraduate in-state tuition at a public American university for the 2007-2008 academic year was approximately $6,185.00 and the average annual in-state room and board fees were approximately $7,404.00.

Despite rising costs, students continue to enroll in public colleges and universities in increasing numbers. “Enrollment is up at VSU,” said Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Virginia State University, Michael Shackleford.

To bridge financial gaps, more and more students at public colleges and universities are turning to federal financial aid. Vice President of Financial Aid at VSU, Henry Debose notes that rising costs of going to college have caused all sectors of the population to seek financial assistance.

“Federal student loan programs are a well-known method for paying for a college education, but they can prove costly to the student.” Debose said.

Aisha Bailey, a doctoral student at Indiana University at Pennsylvania believes that financial aid makes college more affordable for everyone.

“I think it’s a fair way to make college equally available to a wide variety of American citizens,” she said.

Both Gunter and Bailey suggest that public colleges and universities should provide its citizens with a free education.

“Education benefits citizens in so many ways the cost of the expenses to the public would be worth the pay off in lower crime rates, higher wage earners, and more productive U.S. citizens,” Gunter said.

While Bailey does agree that public education should be free, she sees free education in exchange for public service as a viable alternative.

“As a student who has taken out loans for graduate school and as a person who upon graduation will face many years of loan repayment, I don’t necessarily see free education in exchange as a bad thing. Anything is better than being in debt,” said Bailey.