Student Aid

Higher-education leaders in Maryland praised an effort unveiled by President Barack Obama on Friday to make college more affordable but expressed unease about still-emerging details that could have an impact on federal funding and student aid. Calling access to college essential for the nation's economy, the president used two speeches — including one in Maryland — to propose an expansion of student loan programs. He challenged state and university officials to hold the line on tuition or risk losing part of their federal funding.

Higher-education leaders in Maryland praised an effort unveiled by President Barack Obama on Friday to make college more affordable but expressed unease about still-emerging details that could have an impact on federal funding and student aid. Calling access to college essential for the nation's economy, the president used two speeches — including one in Maryland — to propose an expansion of student loan programs. He challenged state and university officials to hold the line on tuition or risk losing part of their federal funding.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid joined Maryland Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Paul S. Sarbanes yesterday at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing to decry Republican initiatives to cut student aid. About 80 Hopkins students and faculty members attended the hourlong forum where the three politicians promised that government "can do better" for students stepping up to fill the nation's nursing shortage. The event was simulcast to an overflow room where 100 more people were listening.

T he federal student loan program has gone through many changes in its 45-year history, and now it's time for the next big step: cutting out the middleman. That's what the Obama administration proposes to do starting in July. Students now get federal loans through a private lender or directly from the government. Obama wants all federal loans to come straight from Uncle Sam, which would create a net savings of $62 billion through 2020, according to figures last week from the Congressional Budget Office.

Congressionally approved increases in loan interest rates are hitting college students and their families just as campaigns for fall elections are getting under way. Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to either offer relief or justify their actions before students and parents turn into angry voters. Politicians may be right to pay attention to middle-class voters, but the constituency they should really focus on is low-income students. At a time when college costs -- and student indebtedness -- continue to rise, Democrats are trying to capitalize on the fact that the Republican-controlled Congress used about $12 billion in savings from student aid programs to help reduce the deficit this year.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted yesterday to expand federal student aid programs for middle-income families while moving simultaneously to reduce the rising number of defaults on government-backed student loans.By a 93-1 vote, senators approved legislation that would raise limits on so-called Pell grants to $3,600 per student beginning Oct. 1 -- from $2,400 now -- and would make them available to families earning up to $42,000 a year, up from $30,000 now.To help keep pace with tuition costs, the measure would increase limits on federally guaranteed student loans (known as Stafford loans)

New York -- An astonishing student-aid bill passed the Congress this month and will be signed by President Bush. Astonishing because -- on paper, at least -- it showers free money on middle-income and upper-middle-income families while taking aid away from many Americans of lesser wealth.But no well-off family should count the money until it's actually in hand. Congress has made you eligible for government and college grants that, in many cases, will not exist.To understand the new rules, you need a general grasp of how student aid is awarded.

TIP to students and parents who are tempted to cheat on their applications for student aid: Congress is considering a proposal to make you easier to catch.Federal aid is based on financial need, so students have to disclose their family income and savings. Congress is currently re-evaluating the entire federal student-aid program. Under changes requested by the Education Department and in a bill proposed by the House, all applications would be checked against your income tax returns. If you low-balled your income in order to qualify for more aid, you'd be exposed.

SOME big-name private colleges and universities say they're taking a new tack on student aid. They're going to judge every incoming student by roughly the same set of financial standards. Families with similar incomes and assets, applying to similar schools, should be offered similar amounts of loans and grants. That's the way it used to be. But in recent years, these expensive schools have gone in different directions - applying different yardsticks for student aid. Students might get a much higher offer from School A than from School B. When families saw this, they took it as a signal to negotiate.

President Barack Obama agreed Friday to postpone a trip to Asia, signaling his commitment to swift action on his signature health care bill as Democrats in Congress prepared for action next week and expanded the bill's scope to include a popular student aid initiative. The president's change of travel plans, which will move his departure from Thursday to March 21, will enable him to remain active in pushing Democrats toward approval of his signature domestic initiative. But it underscored the possibility that Democrats might miss a self-imposed deadline calling for them to hold the first of a series of three critical health care votes next Friday.

President Barack Obama agreed Friday to postpone a trip to Asia, signaling his commitment to swift action on his signature health care bill as Democrats in Congress prepared for action next week and expanded the bill's scope to include a popular student aid initiative. The president's change of travel plans, which will move his departure from Thursday to March 21, will enable him to remain active in pushing Democrats toward approval of his signature domestic initiative. But it underscored the possibility that Democrats might miss a self-imposed deadline calling for them to hold the first of a series of three critical health care votes next Friday.

Rising prices and an uncertain job market are taking a toll on families struggling to pay for higher education. The tough economic times are reflected in the number of Maryland students applying for financial aid, which jumped 19 percent overall during the first six months of this year. Affordability is a big issue in the choice of which school to attend, and many students are settling on nearby state colleges and universities where tuition and living costs are lower. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, for example, the freshman class is about 100 students larger this year than last; tuition there is less than half that of a comparable private university.

A sluggish economy and uncertain job market are prompting a surge in applications for financial aid at universities and community colleges this year, as families struggle to pay for higher education in the face of layoffs and rising prices. About 19 percent more students in Maryland applied for federal financial aid during the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, according to recently released data. Families that never before applied for aid are now seeking help, universities report.

Castle Toyota/Scion in Southeast Baltimore promised $8,400 in scholarships to four graduating seniors from Patterson High School to cover tuition at Baltimore City Community College. But in a dispute over publicity, the dealership withdrew its offer, leaving all parties feeling bitter. The money was to come from Castle's advertising and marketing budget, and the owner wanted news media present at the school's senior farewell awards ceremony to document his gesture of goodwill. Then, the week of the ceremony, Patterson's longtime JROTC instructor collapsed in the school parking lot and died of a heart attack, and the principal decided the ceremony should assume the tone of a memorial service.

Tiara Bland is taking Advanced Placement English with Ms. O'Connor. Compared to the difficulty of that class, the Randallstown High School student didn't expect the financial aid forms for college to be much trouble. But with scholarships at stake, the 17-year-old's mother was glad yesterday to have an expert looking over the federal form. "It's a little bit complicated when you get to the tax questions," said Marian Bland. On the plus side, said Tiara Bland, "At least you don't have to study for it."

The Harper's Choice Community Association and Kidstreet News will sponsor the 25th annual Camp Expo from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 10 at Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Row, Columbia. Representatives from local, and regional day and overnight camps will attend. Families with children are welcome (no strollers are allowed); children's activities are planned. Admission is free and open to everyone. Information: 410-730-0770. County to hold job fair for teachers The Howard County Public School System's Comprehensive Teacher Job Fair will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 3 at the Kossiakoff Center, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, North Laurel.

THE MOST IMPORTANT people on any university campus are not the professors currently getting grants but the freshmen who will enter next year.Will they have an experience as meaningful and enriching as successful Johns Hopkins alumni who in gratitude helped the university reach its $900 million capital campaign goal two years early?The success owes much to the generosity of such people as A. James Clark, a trustee and Bethesda construction magnate, who pledged $10 million toward an additional $300 million Hopkins hopes to raise in the remaining two years of the campaign.

Maryland's $81.8 million college scholarship programs are a confusing hodgepodge that needs streamlining, plus additional resources to help students keep up with the soaring costs of schooling, according to an independent investigation. The study, ordered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, calls for consolidation of 24 student aid programs into five broad categories, each with uniform deadlines and regulations. Some of the programs run by the State Scholarship Administration would be more efficiently operated at the campus level, said researchers at the American Institutes for Research, a Washington think tank that conducted the study.

Because of inclement weather at the end of last week, The Howard County Public School System's Special Education Job Fair, scheduled from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at Harper's Choice Middle School, has been rescheduled for Jan. 31. The times and location will not be changed. Interviews that had been scheduled will be honored during the Jan. 31 job fair. Candidates who need to adjust the time of their interviews can visit www.hcpss.org. Information: Marya Pecukonis, 410-313-5694. HCC helps with student aid forms Howard Community College's office of Financial Aid Services invites students and their parents to receive free hands-on assistance in completing the 2008-2009 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

In the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi where Hurricane Katrina roared through more than two years ago, frustrated homeowners still struggle. Their plight is again attracting the attention of the University of Maryland School of Law. Nearly 80 law students plan to forgo part of their winter vacation next month and chip in on a variety of legal matters affecting hurricane survivors in Louisiana and Mississippi. "What we've heard is that the immediacy of the problem isn't any less now," said Alicia H. Welch, a third-year law student and coordinator of the project.