'Show me the money': $53 million in scholarships sits in reserve
James Baker
Issue date: 12/5/08 Section: News
Reserve scholarship money in the Department of Higher Education reached about $53 million this year, with millions in unspent financial aid ready to be handed out.
The news shocked some UA students and highlighted the significance of the credit crunch college graduates face as they go out into the working world saddled with debt from student loans.
"I was under the impression they didn't have any more to give," junior Molly Harrison said. Harrison, who had to apply for student loans, said she "could have used a lot of financial aid."
But the surplus didn't just pop up; it has been growing over a long period of time, ready for qualified applicants, said Dale Ellis, communications director for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
"We can't give money to those who apply and don't qualify and [to] those who qualify but don't apply," Ellis said.
Having a surplus in education isn't a bad thing in such drastic economic times, where a recession has not only been in effect since last December, but looks to stick around well into 2009. However, a new national study and a dim economic outlook also may point to a growing need for students to look into every available facet of financial aid.
The average debt of graduating UA seniors in 2007 was more than $19,000, up $1,000 from the previous year, according to the Project on Student Debt. The proportion of UA graduates with debt in 2007 was 44 percent.
The study found that nationally, the average debt a graduating senior carries is more than $20,000, with Iowa students feeling the biggest college credit crunch with an average of $26,000 in debt.
In Arkansas, from Hendrix College to the Hill, the average debt is more than $18,000 and the proportion is 54 percent, or one out of every two graduating students. Nationally, Arkansas is ranked No. 32 and No. 37 in average debt and proportion with debt, respectively.
All the numbers reflect a growing trend where college graduates still are left penniless when they start earning bigger paychecks out of college, as they pay back massive debt after years of eating Ramen noodles and, in Silas Humphrey's case, giving plasma.
The news shocked some UA students and highlighted the significance of the credit crunch college graduates face as they go out into the working world saddled with debt from student loans.
"I was under the impression they didn't have any more to give," junior Molly Harrison said. Harrison, who had to apply for student loans, said she "could have used a lot of financial aid."
But the surplus didn't just pop up; it has been growing over a long period of time, ready for qualified applicants, said Dale Ellis, communications director for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
"We can't give money to those who apply and don't qualify and [to] those who qualify but don't apply," Ellis said.
Having a surplus in education isn't a bad thing in such drastic economic times, where a recession has not only been in effect since last December, but looks to stick around well into 2009. However, a new national study and a dim economic outlook also may point to a growing need for students to look into every available facet of financial aid.
The average debt of graduating UA seniors in 2007 was more than $19,000, up $1,000 from the previous year, according to the Project on Student Debt. The proportion of UA graduates with debt in 2007 was 44 percent.
The study found that nationally, the average debt a graduating senior carries is more than $20,000, with Iowa students feeling the biggest college credit crunch with an average of $26,000 in debt.
In Arkansas, from Hendrix College to the Hill, the average debt is more than $18,000 and the proportion is 54 percent, or one out of every two graduating students. Nationally, Arkansas is ranked No. 32 and No. 37 in average debt and proportion with debt, respectively.
All the numbers reflect a growing trend where college graduates still are left penniless when they start earning bigger paychecks out of college, as they pay back massive debt after years of eating Ramen noodles and, in Silas Humphrey's case, giving plasma.
Be the first to comment on this story