According to the College Board, more than $120 billion in student aid was distributed in the 2004-05 academic year, more than $14 billion of which was from private lending institutions, a trend that is present throughout the Boston University community.
In 2004-05, the total percentage of undergraduate aid in the form of grants, many of which are government or publicly issued, decreased for the third year in a row, with undergraduates receiving 46 percent of their aid in the form of grants.
BU offers loans to its students, but they require the students to repay the amount. Students have the option of getting educational loans that tend to be subsidized – like Stafford and Perkins loans – or they can seek outside aid from private institutions or banks.
“I receive grants through BU, but my parents pay the remaining portion through a home-equity loan set up by a private company,” College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Jacob Curtis said.
According to the Office of Enrollment Planning and Retention’s website, in the 2004-05 academic year, BU awarded $137,268,541 in need-based scholarships and grants, and $39,264,590 in student loans – which means more students receive financial aid in grants than loans.
“There is no specific figure on the number of private loans students receive,” BU spokesman Colin Riley said.
The College Board also announced last week that increases in tuition at public institutions are significantly smaller in 2005-06 than they were in the last two years, with increases at private four-year colleges similar to last year’s. Although average grant aid per student is growing, the increases are not large enough to prevent increased dependence on borrowing, the study said.
“I can tell you that BU is below the national average for tuition increase for the past decade,” Riley said.
BU’s tuition increased by 4.9 percent in 2005-06 from the previous year, he said.
“The university tries very hard to keep tuition increase as low as possible,” Riley said. “Increases have been among the lowest for the university for the past 35 years.”
According to the Office of Financial Assistance’s website, BU offers a variety of grants to its students, either through the university, the federal government or the state. Each has different eligibility criteria, ranging from merit-based to need-based. These do not have to be paid back, but students have certain renewal criteria to meet every semester. This typically means the amount of credits a student has to take or a certain GPA they have to meet.
The university continues to provide students with the same financial aid as long as their financial situation is the same.
“If a student’s financial income changes substantially, it is likely that the assistance will be readjusted accordingly,” Riley said. “If a student is not happy with an award, they can appeal and ask for new or additional funding. [The Office of Financial Assistance] can point you to the right direction.”
College of Communication sophomore Shion Kato said her aid corresponded with tuition increases.
“I received an increase in my financial aid which was due to the increase in tuition costs,” she said. “It’s fairly steady.”
According to the Office of Enrollment Planning and Retention’s website, for the 2004-05 academic year an average 91 percent of full-time freshmen at BU were met on their need-based aid, while an average 90 percent of full-time undergraduates were met on their need-based aid.
Some students said they feel Office of Financial Assistance gives an accurate amount of aid to its students.
“I haven’t had any problems with the financial aid office,” Kato said. “I feel the majority of the trouble comes from students not meeting mandatory deadlines. I think the office and university both try to accommodate each student’s need to the best of their ability.”
Other students said they feel the university does not tend to the individual student as best they could.
“My financial aid decreased significantly this year,” Curtis said. “And although I believe BU gives to those students who are need-based, I still don’t feel they completely take into account the strain such a decrease like mine posed on my family.”
Riley said the school will try to accommodate as many students’ needs as possible.
“When awarding financial aid, I think the school is very generous,” Riley said. “The Office of Financial Assistance and the administration want to meet every student’s needs, but it’s impossible and that’s the fact.”