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November 9. 2005
PCC Fights to Make College Affordable
continued
from Metro
our society. We have to encour­
age people to utilize that which
is affordable to us,” Gatewood
said. “Better education becomes
better jobs which becomes bet­
ter lives.”
For PCC Cascade in north
Portland, an urban neighborhood
with a diverse minority popula­
tion, it’s important that every­
one, regardless of financial need,
have access to higher educa­
tion.
“Students of color have the
most struggles in access to edu­
cation. This (budget cut) is just
another barrier,” said Leah
Gibson, president of PCC Cas­
cade Associated Students.
Those interested in signing
the petition online or learning
more about the issue can visit
w w w .u n io n v o ic e .o rg /c a m -
paign/ussa2 or call 800-574-
4243.
*
Algie Gatewood
Leah Gibson, president o f the
Associated Students of
Portland Community College
(fare left), joins PCC Campus
Student Leadership Coordina­
tor Kendi Esary and PCC
Cascade President Algie
Gatewood in a forum discuss­
ing federal financial aid cuts.
K atherine
B lackmore /
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
Calculating the Cost of a Higher Education
-D eferm ent. You may re­
quest a deferm ent, or tem po­
rary suspension, from your
lender if you meet certain
criteria such as being unem ­
p lo y ed or re -e n ro lle d in
school. D epending on the
type o f loan, you may not
have to pay interest during
deferm ent. If you apply for
a deferm ent, you must be
able to make all paym ents
until deferm ent is granted;
you are not able to get any
type o f deferm ent on a de­
faulted loan.
-Forbearance. If you are
not eligible for deferm ent,
you may request a tem po­
rary suspension or reduc­
tion o f paym ents. Forbear­
Student loans offer repayment options
As fast as children grow , so does the
cost to educate them more than tripling
in the past 20 years. In fact, experts
predict that 18 years from now the cost
o f a public college education will be
more than $100,000, and a private c o l­
lege could cost tw ice that.
The m ost com m on way to finance an
education is with a student loan. W hile
m ost student loans do offer attractive
repaym ent options, many students are
dism ayed when they are still paying for
their education five, 10 and even 20
years after graduation. A ccording to
data from the Department o f Education’s
N ational Postsecondary Student Aid
Study, 64 percent o f students gradu­
ated with student loan debt in 2000. The
average student loan debt has nearly
doubled over the past eight years to
$16,928.
If you are having trouble paying for
your education, w aiting it out is not an
option. There is no statute o f lim itations
on g o v e rn m e n t-g u a ra n te e d stu d e n t
loans, giving Uncle Sam unlim ited time
to collect. Fortunately, M oney M an­
agem ent International has noted a few
options:
-C onsolidation. You may be able to
co n so lid ate several loans into one.
Many consolidation loans offer stu­
dents the opportunity to repay their
loans over a 30-year period at a favor­
able interest rate. W hile consolidating
your loans may decrease your m onthly
paym ents, keep in mind that increasing
the length o f tim e it takes you to repay
them may increase the total cost o f re­
paying your loans.
ance can also be an extension o f the time
you have to repay your loan. U nlike
deferm ent, interest accrues, and you
are responsible for repaying it, regard­
less o f the type o f loan you hold.
-Cancellation. Perhaps every stu­
dent dream s o f having their loans d is­
m issed and, in som e rare cases, it is
possible. For exam ple, your student loan
may be cancelled if you becom e perm a­
nently disabled or if your alm a m ater
closes before you com plete your pay­
ment program. Keep in mind that cancel­
lations are not granted for financial dif­
ficulty.
Finally, it is im portant to realize that
ignoring your student loans only m akes
m atters worse. For more inform ation on
student loan repaym ent, visit the US
D epartm ent o f E ducation’s w ebsite at
w w w .ed.gov.
Students Increasingly Relying on Loans
Grants, tax breaks and other sources can help
For students and parents, it’s
the first sliver of good news about
college costs for several years: price
increases slowed this year, grow­
ing at the lowest rate since 2001.
But the bad news is the 7.1 per­
cent increase at public four-year
universities remains well above the
general inflation rate, and drove the
“list price” of tuition and fees at
those schools to an average of
$5,491, according to an annual sur­
vey released last month by the
College Board.
Prices at two-year public col­
leges, which educate nearly half of
American college students, rose
5.4 percent to $2,191. At four-year
private, nonprofit colleges, costs
rose 5.9 percent to $21,235.
Most families don’t pay the full
list price, thanks to grants from the
government and other sources, as
well as tax breaks. Typical net costs:
$ 11,600at private four-year schools;
$2,200 at public four-year schools,
and just $400 at community col­
leges.
Yet students at four-year public
colleges are paying an estimated
$750 more than just two years ago.
And while total financial aid is in­
creasing, loans accounted for more
of the growth than grants for the
third consecutive year, the College
Board said. Students have to pay
back loans, but not grants.
James Boyle, president of the
group College Parents of America,
said schools and policy-makers
aren’t working hard enough to hold
down costs.
“The beat goes on with increases
in colleges costs and parents are
growing weary of the same old
tune.” he said.
Average debt for undergradu­
ate borrowers is now $15.500 - a
figure experts consider manageable
for most students, given that col­
lege graduates can expect to earn
nearly $20,000 more per year than
high school graduates. Still, in­
creases in borrowing raise concerns
that some students will be priced
out of college, drop out, or gradu­
ate but stay away from low-paying
public service jobs so they can
repay debts.
“We have deserving students
who are being kept out of college or
have difficulty completing degrees
because of a lack of money,” said
Gaston Caperton, president of the
nonprofit College Board, which also
owns the SAT college entrance
exam.
The results come as Congress is
negotiating a new version of the
Higher Education Act, which would
set federal financial aid policy for
the coming years. A House version
passed last month increases some
“Basically, they are subsidizing
the education of middle- and up­
per-income families,” said William
Kirwan, chancellor of Maryland’s
university system, citing as an ex­
ample the Georgia Hope Scholar­
ship program, which covers tuition
and fees at a Georgia public univer­
sity to any student with a B aver­
age.
While state spending on need-
based aid has increased, merit-
based aid has grown faster in re­
cent years. College Board and uni­
versity officials noted. Merit aid
went from 10 percent of al 1 state aid
in 1993 to 26 percent by 2003, the
most recent year for which figures
Heald College students get
practical, hands-on instruction
from experts in the field.
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The beat goes on with increases in
colleges costs and parents are
growing weary o f the same old tune.
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___________________ L
-Jam es Boyle, College Parents of America
grants, but critics say it would harm are available.
Including charges for room and
borrowers by cutting $9 billion from
board, published costs at public
student loan programs.
College Board officials and uni­ four-year schools rose 6.6 percent
versity presidents devoted much to an average of $11,376. At private
of a news conference announcing four-year nonprofit schools, they
the results to concerns over col­ rose 5.7 percent to $27,465.
However, nearly half of students
lege access for poor students, who
at
four-year
schools attend college
- even if they have high test scores
where
tuition
and fees are less than
- earn college degrees at signifi­
$6,000.
There
is also considerable
cantly lower rates than rich stu­
regional
variation:
in New England,
dents. They also criticized the pro­
the
average
publ
ished
price for four-
liferation of popular state programs
year
public
colleges
is
$7,277, while
that award college grants based on
in
the
South
it’s
just
$4,433.
merit, not need.
Practical
instruction
at the
Center for
Advanced
Training