We've said it before and I'm sure we'll say it again. Despite the economy, money for college is still available. A scholarship search, a visit to your college's student financial aid office, and a quick perusal of recent college news should all confirm this. But if you're someone who needs additional empirical evidence, a survey conducted by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, a group representing private colleges (whose students typically rely more on institutional aid than state college students) also supports this conclusion. The results, which were published Thursday, show that only 8.4 percent of institutions surveyed have frozen or cut student aid for either this academic year or the next.
While not fantastic news, when taken in context with the rest of the survey's results, it is encouraging. Nearly 68 percent of colleges reported a significant decline in their endowments and many colleges reported concerns over fundraising, tuition, and other sources of revenue. Despite this, though, colleges seem to be putting their students' interests first when dealing with budget concerns. For example, 31 percent of colleges surveyed don't yet have plans to increase tuition for 2009-2010, and at least two respondents specifically mentioned increasing student financial aid in their comments. The most popular cost-cutting measures have been freezing hiring, restricting travel, and slowing construction. Cutting student services, campus-based aid programs, and academic programs have been the least popular moves.
To find out more about how small private colleges are weathering the economic downturn, you can visit NAICU's news room. To scope out private colleges near you, conduct a free college search on Scholarships.com.
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