Financing

After they scrape together the necessary cash to pay tuition fees, community college students find that their financial obligations are far from over. The rising costs of textbooks and other necessary supplies have put more than one college student into a deep financial hole, forcing some to choose between their necessary resources and rent for the month.

To help students plan more efficiently for the cost of textbooks each semester, a new law has been put in place to require college professors to disclose the precise costs of textbooks before a student commits to their classes, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Lower Prices

In addition to helping students plan for the cost of higher education more accurately, the new law will also increase awareness and competition in the textbook market, lowering the cost of textbooks overall.

This is good news to students who may spend hundreds of dollars every semester to stock their dormitory bookshelves with the necessary supplies. A report in the Washington Post two years ago estimated that some college students pay between $700 and $1,100 each year on textbooks. Between 1986 and 2004, the price of a college textbook tripled, with an annual increase of around 6% each year – nearly double the rate of inflation.

"It's really hard just paying for tuition alone," Annaiis Wilkinson told the Washington Post. The 19-year-old Trinity Washington University student paid about $500 in textbooks each semester just

Students who enter community college today might be dismayed to find that hefty tuition payments are just the beginning of a potentially expensive college career. In addition to the annual tuition costs, textbooks have become a significant expense for many students, with some books easily costing more than $100 to bring a total for a single semester well into the $500-$1,000 range.

Cash-strapped students are often looking for affordable solutions to the textbook issue; fortunately, help is available. Through various programs offered on community college campuses and across the Internet, students are finding they can save a bundle on the textbooks they need.

Affordable Options

A report last year on U.S. News and World Report cited several options students could explore to save money on college textbooks, including:

• Using textbook rental services
• Borrowing textbooks from libraries
• Participating in textbook exchanges
• Getting textbooks for free or nearly free online
• Finding used textbooks at a reduced price

While these options offer advantages and drawbacks, using various methods to secure all the textbooks you need for any given semester can reap serious rewards for saving money. In addition to the tried and true savings programs, some college professors are getting involved in the affordable textbook cause to find resources for students that provide them with the information they need to ace a class without going into the red to do so.

Freebies

Someone once said that "the best things in life are free," especially when it comes to college textbooks.

As the illegal immigration debate continues to rage, another aspect of the issue comes to light. A community college in California has set up a scholarship fund that is available to illegal immigrants, as well as legal residents of the United States, according to a report on Fox News. While the foundation responsible for the scholarship is receiving a considerable amount of flack, it turns out there are other scholarship avenues for illegal immigrants to explore as well.

As Fastweb notes: "Federal law passed in 1996 prohibits illegal aliens from receiving in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education. Specifically, Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 states: "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident."

Several states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington -- have passed state laws providing in-state tuition benefits to illegal aliens who have attended high school in the state for three or more years."

The Immigration Question

Most immigrant students seeking scholarship money hold green cards

Community college students are much more likely to qualify for financial aid than students attending four-year universities. However, students attending two-year institutions are unlikely to apply for aid, according to a recently released report by College Board. The discrepancy has inspired many higher educators to "put on their thinking caps" and come up with a solution to make community college more affordable to those who can least afford it.

According to the College Board Study, only 58% of community college students who are eligible for Pell grants applied for financial aid, compared with 77% of Pell-eligible students at four-year institutions. The College Board report states, "Although community college students are more likely to be eligible for need-based federal aid, they are less likely than their peers at other types of institutions to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)."

College Raptor makes the following observation about some students not applying for financial aid. "The National College Access Network (NCAN) recently released an alarming study about college-bound students’ awareness of financial aid opportunities. Within their post, they reference other findings and statistics about higher education and financial aid. The Department of Education found that only 45% of high school students completed and filed the FAFSA. Less than half of graduating high school students are applying for federal financial aid." Apparently many high school students know little or nothing about financial aid.

This video offers a guide to financial aid.

The tide has turned in federal financial aid – and students will be the benefactors. The newly minted U.S. Department of Education’s Direct Loan Program will now administer federal financial aid, cutting out the middlemen banks that once profited from doling out these funds to students.

Amidst all of the changes, “student loans are in transition, and those who use them need to pay particular attention right now as the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loan Program takes responsibility for lending,” The Daily Press sagely advises.

Make sure that you are taking the right steps to apply for and manage your community college financial aid, using this article as your guide.

Financial Aid & the Federal Government: Overview of New Legislation

According to the New York Times, President Obama recently passed legislation that allows the Department of Education to directly provide students with financial aid loans. This new law eliminates any fees paid to private banks, as banks will no longer serve as intermediary parties between students and their access to college loans. Without banks acting as middlemen, an estimated $6 to $7 billion dollars of federal money will be saved annually, benefiting the government, taxpayers, and students, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

As outlined by the legislation, as of July 2014, students set to borrow money for college will be permitted to, “cap repayments at 10 percent of income above a basic living allowance,