New scholarship will give more aid to students

By Devin Ramos |Staff Writer|

The Middle Class scholarship will give relief to students and families that struggle to pay for tuition in California State Universities and Universities of California.

The rising costs of attending college show that people are in need of a scholarship tailored specifically to their income bracket.

The scholarship can cut tuition by 40 percent for families making under $100,000 and will also target DREAM Act students.

A student must first complete an application for Federal Student Aid to automatically be considered for the scholarship.

In my opinion, the process to be considered has been made simple for students to obtain money to help them through school.

Statehornet.com reports, “Beginning in the 2014-15 academic year, the Middle Class Scholarship Act is a new financial aid award for California State University and University of California Students.”

According to Sacramento state interim financial aid director, Anita Kermes, “Assemblyman John Perez fought for the Middle Class Scholarship to help those families that are otherwise ‘priced out’ of assistance for college. The bill passed last year and we are in the first year of a three year phase of implementation.”

The inclusion of which shows that Perez is serious about encouraging more students to pursue a higher education.

The ability to pursue a higher education against rising tuition costs makes it difficult for people to complete their education without having to take out a loan.

The Associated Press reports that the cost of tuition costs rose over the last six years and that California residents filing the federal financial aid application jumped nearly 74 percent.

A scholarship like this will encourage students to take advantage of the aid that has always been available but tends to go unclaimed.

Tara Siler of NPR reports, “FiniAid, an online guide that helps students find funding for college, estimated about two million eligible students nationwide are foregoing federal assistance.”

Siler reports, “Here in California, those students leave about half a billion dollars in federal Pell Grants untapped. That’s according to Debbie Cochrane with Berkeley’s Institute for College Access and Success.”

Colleges should play a bigger role in making students aware of how much money that they are losing out on, which in turn would drive more people to enroll in a state college. Students should know that scholarships, such as the one aimed at the middle class, are available for them while they are attending classes.

It would allow students to take more classes by not having to work more hours at their job in order to pay for their classes and school supplies.

The ability to do so would push them through school faster and lower the stress levels of having to balance a job and a full-time schedule at school.

The opportunity for students to leave college with little to no debt has been made available for those that have had trouble obtaining financial aid. Students should file a FAFSA to increase their chances of receiving aid.

The simplicity of obtaining the Middle Class Scholarship can ease the burden for many that are pursuing a higher education.