IU financial aid office ‘swamped’

The Office of Student Financial Assistance was busy this summer, sometimes taking up to 3,200 calls a day from students and parents worried about paying for college in difficult economic times.

“As the economy has continued to chug along, we’ve seen more traffic in our financial aid office this year than in recent memory,” said Roger Thompson, vice provost for enrollment management.

Thompson said the University offers a variety of scholarships and financial aid programs to make attending college more affordable. Despite the tuition increase, IU is aiming to make more financial assistance available for deserving students.

IU offers a variety of scholarship and financial aid opportunities ranging from automatic merit  scholarships to minority scholarships.  Additional money for first-generation college students with programs like the Pell Promise Program and the 21st Century Scholars Program for are also available for students with financial need.

“All of these programs are happening at the same time,” Thompson said. “Each hits a slightly different population, but they share a similar goal of making college more affordable.”

Sophomore Raven Kraft is a participant in the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program, a scholarship program for minority students who were active in their communities in high school.

Kraft said in addition to the networking opportunities and support system the program offers, the $5,000 scholarship helps her.

“My dad is the only one paying to go to college and I’m from a family of four kids, so if I wouldn’t have had the Hudson Holland scholarship I wouldn’t be able to go here,” Kraft said.

Freshman TJ Ford, a participant in Groups Student Services, also relies on University programs to help  make college more affordable. Groups is a program in which first-generation or low-income college students take summer classes at IU before their freshman year and participate in program activities throughout their college experience.

Groups participants also receive a generous scholarship package.

“I would’ve already gone to IU, but I feel so much more supported,” Ford said.

With the economic recession, Thompson said more students are feeling the pinch and applying for scholarships. Due to the increasing academic profile of each year’s incoming class, the University changed the criteria for automatic scholarships to make the process more selective.

Thompson said the incoming class of 2013 has an average 3.67 GPA and scored an average 1203 on the SAT, a number that is up 100 points from five years ago.

“When these increase with high levels of rapidity, adjustment is necessary,” Thompson said. He added that though the criteria have changed to make the scholarships more competitive, students who entered the University before 2010 will not lose any of the money they earned as freshmen.

Thompson said the University is trying to be as proactive in supporting students during such a difficult economic time. He said financial aid representatives met with students during their orientation programs, and the Office of Financial Assistance has revamped its Web site and added a Financial 101 component to offer clearer information to students.

“We recognize it’s a difficult year for many families, and we recognize that a college education is the second largest financial commitment a family can make,” Thompson said. “We’re doing what we can, but things we typically depend on are available in lesser numbers this year.”

Thompson stressed that students need to understand that the University staff cares deeply about the students, even if they cannot always make as much money available for them as they would like.

“We work for students, they pay our salary, and we’re working to serve them to the best of our ability,” Thompson said.