How Financial Aid Awareness Affects College Access and Success

College tuition has been an increasingly intense topic of discussion over the years. The costs of higher education have been debated by many people, and it has been discussed as to whether costs are becoming too high for students to afford. College has become more and more popular, and now as many as 20 million students attend universities reported by The National Center for Education Statistics (1). The value of a college degree is immense, but college tuition is becoming too expensive for students to afford, and furthering the problem are students’ lack of knowledge on how to pay and earn money towards their college degree.

Latino/a first generation college students are also stressed due to financial anxiety. Since, Latino/a first-generation college students come from predominately low socioeconomic status families that never thought about saving money for college, the stress about how to pay for college and tuition arises. Since these students are the first from their family to attend college, academic and financial expectations are increased with the now need to balance school and work in order to pay for their education and basic life expenses. Most low income families will benefit from the FAFSA and government grants; however, if the lack of necessary resources as mentioned above is not present. The guidance of how to fill of the FASA was mostly likely not there.

College tuition has skyrocketed over the past decades making the pathway to college less accessible to low-income families. According to the

Finally, the most difficult challenge students face in college is a financial hardship. Many students come from various walks of life and sometimes determining one’s financial capability to offset college costs during the early stages of can be problematic. Some students come from well to do families who have a tremendous capacity to pay full tuition without external assistance. These particular students do not require financial aid or scholarships, as they can meet the institution’s financial requirement regardless of what level in college they may fall under as the source of wealth is derived from the family or families. Other students, however, come from impoverished families whom solely depend on financial aid and work full time or part time

because I am a family man who has returned to school. I wish to finish my

College has become a significant chapter in the lives of many Americans today. In most cases, to reach the well-paying and dreamed-of careers, students must have a bachelor's degree or higher in a certain field of expertise — typically from a university. While this is true, many students have realized that university-level education, even in-state, is not cheap. With tuition rates on the rise, college is beginning to be seen as more of a burden than an opportunity. Although scholarships and financial aid decrease the net cost of attending college, the majority middle class students are not equipped with enough aid to graduate debt free, or even close to it.

In a 2004 journal by Susan Auerbach, the concept of parental influence and support for Latina/o students is addressed. Auerbach shares that, “Research suggests the pivotal role of parents in promoting students’ college going” (Auerbach, p.127). It is no mystery that parents have great influence over their children, and when a parent is uneducated on how to best advise their child regarding higher education, they are unable to use this influence to encourage attendance. Auerbach states, “Families without a tradition of college going do not have sufficient knowledge to help their children navigate pathways to college” (Auerbach, p.140). According to the Latino Eligibility Study, the single most important barrier to college access for Latino students in California is lack of active knowledge of the steps needed to go to college (Gandara, 1998,2002). Parents of first generation students need tools that can aid in the child’s success and serve as a means of knowledge on what can be a challenging and confusing process. Another issue tied to parent involvement and understanding is that, “Poor and working class Latino families come to college preparation relatively late in students’ careers, with fewer resources and more obstacles” (Auerbach, p.136). The journal supports the idea that Latino/a parents are in need of early access to college preparation education in order to be able to challenge and support their

It was normal day like any another when I received my financial aid package from college. I remember the excitement that came with being one step further on the path to my life. And just as clearly, I can remember the sinking feeling I got in my stomach when I looked at my financial aid package. This was the first time in my life I had thought I might not go to college. After thought about education, experience, and money, I came to that college is worth the debt that may be incurred.

Colleges are noticing a drop in students’ interest in a higher education, because it forces them to fall into poverty. Obtaining a higher education is a dream of many working class citizens, but the price to go to a choice college is not available economically. The majority of students use some type of student loan, they have become the norm for attending college (Johnston, Roten 24). College is becoming unaffordable to many lower class students. With tuition prices this high, students are backing out of school and looking for jobs that only require a high school diploma. Student loans should help people, but it is only hurting them because they feel like they can never repay it. Especially since student debt continues to rise. “Student loan debt rose by 328 percent from $241 million in 2003 to $1.08 trillion in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” (Johnston, Roten 25).

College is one of the biggest financial burdens in today’s society for many. Since the recession, people often ponder what the best financial options for students looking to go to college are and what path they should take to get them there. Mike Rose, faculty member at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Karen Lawrence, the president of Sarah Lawrence College, have both written articles about this epidemic stating the advantages and some possible downsides to pursuing a higher education. During these articles, the two writers are trying to persuade their intended audience that college is an option that could be beneficial for them to take advantage of. They both have different

Families are now aiming low when it comes to college- or are simply not going at all. Money could play a huge part in this decision- after all, the cost of college has skyrocketed over the years, and so has the amount of student loan debt. This is something even Leonhardt admits, stating that, because of this, only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year college degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree (Leonhardt). And even though many colleges offer financial aid packages, that money may soon be cut and the cost of college will continue to grow. It is true that, in my personal experience, just because a student is awarded financial aid does not mean they have a golden ticket to University. This leaves many desperate students the only option of taking out as many loans as they think they can handle- often more than they should. Debt is not a new issue for America, but it is still a problem. Although David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, laments: “not sending [young adults] to college would be a disaster”, no one can ignore the rising rates of loan defaults, and some think it

At a time when, employers say that almost every new job in the U.S. will require workers to have more than a high-school education, the chance that students at the bottom of the economic ladder can afford to finish college has taken a turn for the worse. The number of students from all income levels and racial and ethnic backgrounds pursuing post- secondary education continues to grow. But to stay in school, low-income students are taking loans, using high- interest credit cards to pay tuition, working more hours, and opting for two-year schools. Low-income students are choosing two-year colleges for financial reasons even though studies show more of them are academically qualified for four-year schools due to efforts by school districts to push them into tougher, college-prep course. This tuition increase makes part- time students “… face costs they cannot afford while confronting a federal system of financial aid that both is “confusing” and “spends too little on those who need help the most” (Zemsky 3). For full time students this raise also puts a damper in their college fund but it could no amount to the cost of a part- time student who cannot afford their education as a result of their uncontrollable financial situations.

Students from all over the United States are told all through their life that they need to attend college if they ever want to be successful, however, this is far from the truth. Often schools are culprits for driving students to attend money driven colleges, in other cases it is family. While schools all too often make the push on students to continue their schooling, parents can cause the same situation, as they may not have a degree and be working a low-paying factory job. Now kids already don’t want to be like their parents when they get older, so seeing them suffer in poverty or barely above the poverty line can cause some dissatisfaction, further seeking a degree to live a life that they never got. What many

The cost of tuition for higher education is quickly rising. Over half of college freshmen show some concern with how to pay for college. This is the highest this number has been since 1971 (Marill and O’Leary 64-66, 93). The amount of college graduate debt has been rapidly increasing also. With limited jobs available because of the high unemployment rate, college graduates find themselves staying in debt even longer. Although grants and financial aid are available to students, students still struggle to pay for their college tuition. Higher education costs are prohibitively expensive because the state’s revenue is low, the unemployment rate is high, and graduates cannot pay off their student loans.

Horn, Laura J., Xianglei Chen, and Chris Chapman. "Getting Ready To Pay for College: What Students and Their Parents Know about the Cost of College Tuition and What They Are Doing To Find Out." (2003).