Student Financial Aid News

From Inside Higher Ed:

Already wounded by budget reductions that came in July and before, college leaders are now scrambling to squeeze even more from coffers, daunted by the real expectation that there are further cuts still to come. With the academic year in full swing, 26 states have now seen budget shortfalls that total $16 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Adding the initial and midyear budget shortfalls together, the collective budget gaps in 48 states total $178 billion or 26 percent of state budgets — the largest gaps on record, the center reports.

Michigan’s colleges and universities are similarly being carried through the year on stimulus funds, and officials say there’s no clear indication of what will happen when that money runs out. Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a budget bill last week that spends $1.6 billion on higher education, drawing $68 million for stimulus funds. The budget reduction cuts higher education support by 0.4 percent, instead of the 3 percent cut colleges would have received absent stimulus money. Michigan’s Promise Scholarship, a merit-based program providing up to $4,000 a year for the first two years of postsecondary education, was eliminated in Granholm’s budget.

Commentary

No surprises here, unfortunately, except to note that the merit based scholarship funding is going away. Expect anything, any financial aid provided by government sources, to be up for grabs in this coming year as more state and local governments just flat out run out of money. We are well past the stage of easy cuts to make in budgets, and are now in the phase of cutting things that will really hurt. These cuts will continue for several more years to come, so please plan your financial aid strategy accordingly.

News You Can Use

If you haven’t already taken the opportunity to do so, now’s a good time to check with a certified financial planner or advisor about the state of your finances and your family’s finances. Think that access to professional financial advisors is only for the rich? Think again – many community banks and credit unions have financial planners on staff (and on salary, so no conflicts of interest) available for nominal fees or even for free (for customers). If you haven’t looked at local community banks and credit unions for your personal finance and banking needs, now might be a good time to also re-evaluate who you trust with your money.

Scholarship Update

Recipients of the Google Lime Scholarship will receive a scholarship for the 2010–2011 academic year. Selected students will also be invited to attend the all-expenses-paid retreat at the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA, in 2011. Scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of candidates’ academic background, leadership and passion for computer science – $10,000USD for those studying in the US and $5,000CAD for those studying in Canada (based on average tuition costs).

Details at our free college scholarship search site.

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