Changes on a federal and state level over the summer may have affected students' amounts of financial aid received for this year.
John McPherson, director of scholarships and financial aid, said although money for financial aid went up on a federal level, on a state level some financial aid stayed the same or dropped. He estimates the total amount of assistance for the 2010-2011 year and summer 2011 was more than $250 million.
McPherson said overall, the economy has affected student financial aid in two ways.
"On a federal and state level both, there's not as many tax dollars coming in because there aren't as many people working," he said. "The amount of money available to students is strapped, because there isn't a lot of money. Also because there are so many people out of work, the pool for those receiving financial aid has grown, so it dilutes the amount of dollars the applicants get this year."
On a state level, requirements for the Frank O'Bannon Grant were modified over the summer.
New requirements include having a higher grade point average. Freshmen are required to keep a 2.0, sophomores need to keep a 2.25 and juniors and seniors need a 2.5 GPA to keep receiving the grant.
McPherson said the State Students' Aid Commission made the change to set a higher expectation and as a money management strategy.
Over the summer, federal financial aid programs were talked about when congress leaders and President Barack Obama worked to reach a deal on the country's debt ceiling. And some programs were changed.
Interest subsidy for graduate student loans was cut, a change that will take effect in 2012. The debt deal also eliminated repayment incentives for federal student loans, which would provide a rebate of 1 percent on direct loans disbursed between July 1, 2009 and July 1, 2011.
Graduate journalism major Matt Hawkins said although he might feel the changes in his financial aid, he has come to accept them.
"It'll hurt a little bit, but for all the things that were considered to be cut, this made sense," he said.
Hawkins said he returned to college after five years out on the field.
"The job market was not very big and I felt like my education had some holes," he said. "So I thought I'd just come back and fill those gaps."
Another program that was talked about during the debt deal was the Pell Grant. McPherson said although this year the program received support to continue to give students up to $5,550, it is possible that the program will be mentioned in talks again in the future.
"There's no doubt Pell Grants might be on the line," he said. "Student aid may very well become a focal point to reduce the deficit."
McPherson said the Pell Grant is perhaps the biggest concern for applicants of federal student aid. Almost 6,000 people are on Pell Grants at Ball State.
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