For some University of Oregon students, logging on to DuckWeb during the summer to view their next year’s financial aid award package brings relief. For many others, it can be a reminder of economic tension and struggle — even those with the most enviable scholarships and grants, like incoming UO sophomore Vanda Hunter.
As a Pathway Oregon student, recipient of the federal Pell Grant and Oregon resident, Hunter works as a part-time waitress at the Springfield Buffalo Wild Wings to cover the expenses that aren’t covered by her financial aid awards — mainly her living expenses and textbooks.
Hunter attests that economic issues and working part-time can greatly affect how and when students can focus on their academics.
“It was stressful balancing my hours at work and my class schedule freshman year,” she said.
Hunter’s situation isn’t unique, but at least she has Pathway Oregon: a promise made by the UO that academically qualified, Pell Grant-eligible Oregonians will have their tuition and fees fully covered by federal, state and university grants and scholarships for four years. But for out-of-state and middle income students who only have the Pell Grant to lean on, there is much less economic support.
“Unless they are in a specific financial aid program such as Pathway Oregon, Pell Grant students don’t really have the means to pay tuition,” said Jim Brooks, director of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships. “It leaves their financial budgets pretty tight, and I’m sure it impacts what they’re able to do socially and academically,” said Brooks.
In the U.S. Department of Education’s latest report of the Pell Grant program, it was revealed that for the 2013-2014 academic financial relief about 75 percent of the 8.6 million students who received the federal grant to attend college reported having no savings or other cash available. This compares to 60 percent of federal grant recipients five years prior.
The Pell Grant was implemented 50 years ago, when U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965 into law. This was a major part of the administration’s agenda to improve higher education in the U.S.
Presently, maximum Pell Grant awards top at $5,775 per school year, clearly not enough to cover the University of Oregon’s 2015-2016 in-state tuition cost of $10,287. Not to mention the University of Oregon’s $15,000 housing and living estimate.
“Ultimately, these students spend a lot of time emotionally and physically focusing on how to afford the cost of college. Even if a student takes out the full amount of loans, there are still a lot of expenses that remain in terms of housing, books, transportation and general living expenses,” said Grant Schoonover, interim director of the Pathway Oregon Program. “Costs have risen for both the cost of living and tuition, while over the years financial aid has generally decreased in amount or simply stayed the same. That dynamic is not going to change unless we are able to offer more financial aid or decrease the cost of attendance.”