Pocono News Section

More Financial Aid For College Students

More Financial Aid For College Students - Friday, March 6, 2009 at 5:55PM EST

Reported by: Jeff Chirico
Friday, Mar 6, 2009 @ 05:55pm EST
It may be getting a little easier to foot growing college tuition bills. The government is making more money available to pay for education. Consumer reporter, Jeff Chirico is here to explain.

Right now families are busy filling out the FAFSA forms --usually online. It's the first step in getting money for college. And this year, more people will get more help through the recent economic stimulus bill.

“What's it like to fill out these forms?" "It's tedious. I'll tell you that much." “Pain in the neck. Real pain." It's the dreaded free application for federal student aid or FAFSA. 8 pages of probing personal financial questions. “Some people tell me it's the boogie man. But essential to getting money to pay for college. And now there's more available says University of Scranton financial aid director Bill Burke.

For instance, the economic stimulus bill makes some 800 thousand additional students eligible for Pell Grants. They generally go to students of low and moderate income families. The maximum grant has also increased by 500 dollars.

The government has also added 200 million dollars for federal work study --that may help more than a hundred thousand additional students. And the stimulus bill also gives more money to lenders to help loosen the purse strings to student loan borrowers. students like the help. “Definitely a good thing because it's getting harder and harder to afford college."

Because filling out the FAFSA is so confusing, time consuming but equally as important, college officials around here are holding a seminar Sunday to help families get these forms right. “This year's FAFSA form is significantly changed from last year. Burke says financial aid experts will walk families through filling out the FAFSA --so they can be sure they'll get the most financial aid they're eligible for. "It takes a lot of burden off paying for college by myself.

The free seminar takes place Sunday, March 8th from 1 until 4 at Lackawanna College. That's at 501 Vine Street in Scranton. Financial aid reps from a number of local colleges will be there to give hands on help filling out the forms. Tofill out the FAFSA form online go to