Grant Cuts Hinder Low-Income Students at Union County College

Along with Cranford public schools, many Union County College students are feeling a funding crunch this year.

One in three full-time students in the state of New Jersey is said to benefit from the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) program, which will see a $10.9 million drop in funding for the fiscal year 2011 according to a report published by the Higher Education Services earlier this year. 

TAG is a need-based scholarship, and grants will go to 924 more students in 2010-2011 than the prior year.

 Jenni Sanchez, 24, in her first year at Union County College, is already $3,000 in debt after a year-long program at William Paterson University. She said her family can't pay for her to go college, so she's picking up all the costs.

"It's important that this funding doesn't get tampered with so we can go to school," she said.

Sanchez received $700 in TAG funding, has been split between two terms. Her textbooks cost $400 to $500, so she uses her TAG money to pay for books. "I don't want to have to worry about how to get materials," she said. "This way I can focus on class."

Fro full-time students, UCC costs about $3,000 a year for in-county students and $5,600 for out-of-county students. UCC operates on a credit-based fee and the maximum TAG award for county college students this year will be $2,318.

Tuition costs also went up about 4 percent over last year, according to David Sheridan, Dean of Enrollment Management at UCC. He added that financial-aid applications are also up 25 percent.

And financial aid is a need for middle-class students as well as low-income students. Genna Preston, 26, who is currently attending Kean University, studied at UCC's Cranford campus and paid between $1,500-$2,000 a year depending on how many classes she attended.

At 23, when she was in her first year, she was working to pay for her studies. After she lost her job and made a request for aid, she was denied funding because her mother's $120,000 yearly income was too high to qualify. Her mother eventually paid for Preston's first year and her summer classes but couldn't cover her second-year costs. She gets no financial support from her father.

"After I got denied my first year it was very nerve-wracking my second year," she said. "I had been fired from my job and my mother was struggling financially. If I had not received my financial aid, I may not have been a successful graduate.

"They never took into consideration that my mother is single and still paying my 32-year-old brother's college loans and supporting another sibling," she said. "Finally, when I was 24 they looked at my income only." She was then awarded about $600 with the rest covered by federal funding. She gets $2,000 from TAG this year to help defray her costs at Kean.

Sheridan added that while UCC can make scholarships available through money generated by fundraising efforts, it can't fill the void created by the lost  TAG funding.

There is a silver lining though. "Most students who qualify for TAG also qualify for the federal Pell Grant program," Sheridan said. "Most students won't feel it greatly because of an increase in Pell funding."

Pell Grants have increased from a maximum of $5,350 for 2009-2010 to $5,550 in 2010-2011, starting fall this year. But that 3.5 percent raise doesn't always cover the tuition hikes at some colleges.

According to Sheridan, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) added an additional step to the application process.

"There's a dual role to it, besides the across-the-boards cut, the students must also complete an additional form," he said. "They are unfamiliar with HESAA and often ignore this request for personal information or think it isn't legitimate." Sheridan said they have tried to get students to follow the new steps in order to secure their grants.

Sanchez, who is currently studying communications and audio production at UCC, also received $4,000 PELL grant.

"I am living comfortably because of the aid I get," said Sanchez, who also earns $7.50 an hour working 20 hours a week at the activities and athletics office.

Sanchez said she wouldn't want to take out a loan to go to school. "It would force me to be in debt again and I don't want to [do that]."

Preston, who now works part-time as a peer mentor liaison at UCC, encourages students to apply for scholarships and grants.

"It's sad to see kids' education out to a halt, because of money," she said. "I think it's a great program and I encourage everyone to apply."