Changes in rules
to reduce federal
student grants
In Oregon, as many as 4,000 low- and middle-inome
students could be affected by the new requirements
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EUGENE — Hundreds of Universi
ty of Oregon students from low-in
come families will get smaller federal
grants, or none at all, next year be
cause of changes by the government
in how it calculates financial need.
Similar results are likely at
other Oregon public colleges
and universities.
University officials say more than
1,300 of the 4,000 students who re
ceive Pell Grants could be affected by
rules that reduce the amount parents
can claim for state and local taxes
when figuring out their share of col
lege costs.
They say about 100 could be cut
off completely.
James Gilmour, associate financial
aid director for the University, said
most affected students would lose
from $100 to $200 a year.
“Probably about a hundred of
those will lose their grants altogeth
er,” he said.
Financial aid staff at Oregon State
University and Portland State Univer
sity don't yet know who will be af
fected, but similar results are expect
ed there and at community colleges.
Gilmour said those most affected
will be middle-class parents who
just barely qualify for Pell Grants
and struggle to get their kids
through college because they don’t
qualify for as much aid as lower-in
come families.
“Depending on family size, the kind
of people being affected are families
whose incomes range anywhere from
$35,000 to $50,000 (annually),” he
said. “When you think about it, when
you have a family like that with three
or four people, there's not a lot of dis
cretionary income. It's a group that can
use all the help they get. ”
The change likely won’t force large
numbers of students to drop out but
will increase the student loan burden.
At the University of Oregon the
average debt load at graduation
among students with loans is close
to $17,000.
The effect on Oregon’s state-fund
ed college aid program, known as
the Opportunity Grant, is unclear.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski wants to ex
pand it, and a drop in Pell Grants
could offset that.
Pell Grants are awarded based on
family income. On average, a qualify
ing student receives approximately
$2,400 in Pell Grants each year, with
a maximum set at $4,050.
Need is calculated using a complex
formula that takes a variety of house
hold expenses into account.
The Department of Education is
supposed to periodically update the
tax tables used to calculate the ex
pected family contribution. But law
makers who support increasing fi
nancial aid for students have
blocked changes that would reduce
grant awards.
Republican lawmakers got the
changes through Congress this year.
The updated tax tables will be used
in calculating grants for the 2005
2006 school year.
Nationwide, about 1.3 million stu
dents are expected to see reductions
in their Pell Grant awards, and some
80,000 who would have qualified for
small grants will get nothing.
SUSHI
made fresh daily in the emu kitchen
LJikToik (-c.c't emu lower level
COURSE OPPORTUNITY:
THE HUMAN CONTEXT
OF DESIGN-ARCH 440
The Human Context of Design is about
the building and landscapes of our built
environment: why we build them, how
they enhance our lives, how they don’t,
how we can make them better.
This winter term 2005, the Department of
Architecture is opening up ARCHITECTURE
440 to non-majors on an experimental
basis. Made possible by the Tom and Carol
Williams Fund for Undergraduate Education,
this is a pilot class that explores the
potential of cross-fertilization between the
general liberal arts and applied professional
coursework. Undergraduate liberal arts
students from all disciplines are invited
to participate.
SAVE $«
buy used texts
Sofa by day/Bed by night
Renelle
GIBSON
$179
Double Frame
and Mattress,
Cover not
included
020482
FREE
Delivery Setup
M AMERICAN
<0& MATTRESS
MANUFACTURING
Buy Factory Direct & Save
4075 W. 11th *343-2690
Open Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.- 8 p.m.,
Sal, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
£ $49
> TWIN MATTS
$109
QUEEN SET