College Admission Help

College Counselors: More students seeking financial aid
By MARISSA AMONI
For The Beacon News
For Jane Colvin, the career center manager at Oswego High School, spring is a busy time -- especially this spring.
"I am swamped right now. A lot of (scholarship) deadlines are approaching," she said.
Colvin's not complaining. She said it's nice to be busy, but with so many students applying for college scholarships, she knows they won't all be awarded money.
In fact, the school already has received a couple of letters from foundations that are reducing the scholarship awards.
Both Colvin and Debra Quinn, director of guidance at West Aurora High School, said they have noticed more scholarship requests this year. But the larger trend, they say, is that more students are choosing two-year community colleges as opposed to a traditional four-year school.
Jennifer Regnier, director of guidance at East Aurora High School, said parents won't be able to help pay for their child's tuition like in the past.
"There is a higher need for students to fund their education the way the economy is," she said.
She said many scholarship programs still have the necessary funds to assist students, but that could change over the next few years.
She added that several scholarships are funded through trust accounts that rely on the interest that the trust earns to divvy out money.
"It hasn't caught up to us yet," she said.
Reason to worry?
The volume of students wanting a little extra financial help with college has increased. But are scholarships actually decreasing?
Cindy Kovach, counselor at Geneva High School, said, "All of us in the office have noticed an increase in student interest (in scholarships). Most of it is economy-driven." But the school actually added some scholarships this year, she added,
Kovach said the local philanthropic community recognizes the financial burden that college tuition places on families.
At this point, Heather Mc¬Kane, dean of student financial services at Aurora University, has not noticed a difference in scholarship availability, although she is noticing more inquiries from students and parents.
She said no scholarship programs have called and said that they can't do it this year, which is a good thing, because the money helps struggling families.
Jeff Noblitt, director of marketing and communications for Waubonsee Community College, said, "We are seeing an increased volume (of scholarship applications). We have been able to meet demand." He said FAFSA applications are up 40 percent from last year.
Easing the workload
Landing a scholarship usually falls in the lap of the student.
"We provide the information to students and a lot of the students do it on their own," East Aurora's Regnier said.
Scholarship applications can be tedious, but students often get $500 to $1,000 and sometimes a full paid tuition through college. So the extra work can be worth it.
McKane said that students should at least try. She recommends creating a scholarship folder and keeping an eye out for those that are a good fit. Keep examples of applications and essays in the folder. Students can easily take bits and pieces from essays that they used previously so they don't have to write a new essay for each application.
"There's a lot of work that goes into a scholarship application," Colvin said. "I have two kids in college. I know."


College Counselors: More students seeking financial aid