Financial aid update: Loans and grants suffer from bleak economy
Posted by The Skyliner on February 4th, 2009Jennilyn Dempsey
News & Features Editor
Market news agency Bloomberg announced on Thursday, Jan. 29 that both the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve have made plans to help the faltering student loan industry.
The Treasury plans to use $60 billion to buy student loans from banks because “premiums on bonds backed by student loans more than tripled in the past year amid an exodus of investors from all but the safest assets,” Rebecca Christie of Bloomberg reported.
The Fed’s $200 billion plan is targeted at the Federal Family Education Loan Program. The money will be used to purchase loans dating as far back as 2003, and the Fed hopes their plan will “spur consumer credit,” Christie said.
Both of these programs should be in effect by March.
Hopefully these efforts will help the student loan industry, but private loans are still hard to get because of the tight credit situation.
“Private loans have kind of dried up…. It will be more difficult for students to get private loans [for the 2009-2010 school year],” Mike Jordan, director of financial aid, said.
South Carolina’s state budget cuts have affected the S.C. Tuition Grant, which provides many North Greenville University students with up to $3,200 in financial aid per year.
“In South Carolina, due to the budget situation, they’ve reduced the amount of tuition grant they’re going to give next year,” Jordan said.
The projected amount for the 2009-2010 academic year is $2,850, but the legislature is trying to get it back up to $3,200.
“It’s going to depend on what the economy does—whether we get all the money back or not,” Jordan said.
Jordan strongly encourages students to have their taxes filed and get the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form filled out as soon as possible in order to receive as much financial assistance as possible.
Students eligible for the S.C. Tuition Grant must submit their FAFSA by June 30, 2009.
The financial aid office has restructured its section of the NGU Web site to help students find scholarships and apply for loans. Construction of the site is not complete, but most of the information can be found in the “Future Students” section of financial aid.
Several scholarships provided by NGU are due in March, including the alumni and education scholarships.
In addition to the Web site information, the financial aid office will also be sending e-mail notifications to students’ NGU accounts throughout the spring semester.
Jordan and his staff are also glad to speak with anyone who has questions. Stop by the financial aid office, located in Hayes Ministry Center, or call 977-7056.