Student Loan Blog : gas prices

College Students May Be Sheltered From Down Economy, for Now

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:01:00 GMT

Regardless of how long the economy remains in crisis or whether or not this crisis becomes a recession, the effect on students will likely be minimal, at least in the short-term, says Fred Ruppel, economics professor at Eastern Kentucky University (“Student Body May Be Safe From Economic Crunch for Now,” The Eastern ProgressOnline, Nov. 6, 2008).

“Students should be well insulated,” Ruppel told The Eastern ProgressOnline, especially financially independent students who tend to finance their college education with student loans or rely on financial aid to pay for school. “The best place to be during a recession is in school.”

Ruppel points out, however, that students who rely heavily on their parents for financial support could be adversely affected by the downturn in the stock market, now that families’ portfolios may have taken a hit.

Jay Adkins, a sophomore at Eastern, still fears that the $700 million government bailout may be a sign that financing for education is in trouble. “If Freddie Mac and everything else is falling apart in the market, who knows if my student loans are going to be secure?”

Ruppel refutes Adkins’ concerns that the credit crisis will significantly impact student loans any time soon, but he says it may make getting a car loan more difficult for first-time buyers, which could be particularly problematic for students who rely on automobile transportation to get to school. “There’s less money for loans, with a lot more qualifications,” he said.

However, Ruppel does caution that the longer the economy falters, the more it will impact students and graduates. Whitnee Centers, a junior at Eastern, says while gas prices have declined, making her commute cheaper, less people are eating out, and, as a server, her tips are currently down 20 percent.

The economic crisis may have the greatest long-term impact on college graduates, Ruppel says. If the economy fails to create jobs, graduates may begin their professional career with bleak job prospects.

Adkins says, “If my parents know people who are getting laid off and are losing their jobs, who knows what jobs there will be available when I graduate?”

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Colleges Using Creative Solutions to Meet Growing Demand For On-Campus Housing

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:20:00 GMT

Forty percent more upperclassmen requested on-campus housing this year at the University of Missouri than the previous year, creating a housing-accommodation challenge that colleges across the country are facing this fall, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Campuses See Rising Demand for Housing,” August 1, 2008).

This demand for housing is increasing at the same time that many colleges are expanding the number of freshmen who will be competing for the same limited on-campus housing that upperclassmen, many of whom had forgone college dorms for off-campus apartment living, are now also seeking.

Increased Demand for Housing Compounded by Larger Freshmen Classes

This year, the University of Missouri’s freshmen class increased 14 percent over 2007, and the school ended up needing 1,000 more beds than it did in the fall, according to Frankie Minor, the school’s director of residence life.

To help meet the demand, the school opened new dorms, renovated older buildings, leased rooms in two private apartment buildings, and reopened an old residence hall that had been converted to office space.

The need for on-campus housing is so great at the University of Washington, that 5,100 students are living in buildings that were designed to house only 4,100. And as the university prepares for its largest freshmen class ever at 5,600 students — 100 more than last year’s class — the problem may only get worse. To ensure current and new students have adequate housing, the Seattle university plans to add 2,400 beds for both freshmen and upperclassmen in the next 10 to 12 years.

The housing dilemma is similar at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. This year 5,670 returning students will live on campus, some 350 more than last year. The school recently opened a 172-bed apartment complex, but until the addition of 600 more spaces is completed in 2010, students are living in converted lounges and being packed into double rooms that have temporarily been converted into triples.

Educators say the housing shortage may either be a fluke or the beginning of a new trend brought on by rising rent prices off campus, soaring energy costs, and gas prices that have topped $4 per gallon.

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Feeling the Pinch of Rising Food and Gas Prices, Students Flock to Food Banks

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:42:00 GMT

The rising cost of food and gas has become so taxing for some students that food banks in college towns are beginning to see an influx of students, according to an Associated Press article (“Struggling College Students Turn to Food Banks,” July 26, 2008).

The University District Food Bank located in a college neighborhood near the University of Washington campus has seen a 25-percent increase in demand and now serves about 150 students a week.

And the Community College of Denver, which runs its own food-assistance program for students, asked the school this year to double its annual budget to $3,000 to account for a 50-percent increase in demand.

With food prices rising 5 percent in the past year — the highest increase in nearly two decades — and gas prices topping four dollars a gallon across the country, “more and more, it’s just the typical traditional student, about 18 to 22, that’s feeling this crunch,” says Larry Brickner-Wood, director of the Cornucopia Food Pantry at the University of New Hampshire.

Doug McManaway, a University of Washington student, says that after paying for rent he only has $100 left to spend on food for the rest of the month. A food bank may be his best option, he says, although “it kind of grosses me out.”

“But if my parents say, ‘No, we’re not going to give you any more money,’ ” McManaway says, “[food banks] may be a last resort.”

While food stamps are another option for students, qualifying for the program is a more complicated and restrictive process than getting in to most community food banks, which most often just ask students to provide a student ID to prove they live in the area.

To be eligible for food stamps, college students generally must be on public assistance benefits, work at least 20 hours a week in a state or federal work-study job, and take care of a dependent household member under the age of 6. Students who are enrolled in employer-sponsored job training classes may also be eligible.

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Gas Prices Put the Squeeze on Community College Students

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With gasoline prices approaching $5 a gallon, students who attend community colleges in rural America — where a one-way trip to school is often 30 miles or more — are being forced to make some tough decisions about school, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Rising Cost of Gas Pinches Rural Community Colleges,” June 11, 2008).

Many students are dropping out while others are opting for online classes to get some relief from premium prices at the pump.

“Every time you fill the truck up, it costs $10 more a week than it did a year ago,” said Paul Kraft, director of student services at the University of New Mexico-Gallup. “That's $10 that's not being spent somewhere else.”

Though community college officials in these rural areas are concerned that the high gas prices may adversely affect enrollment numbers, many administrators say they may have to wait for this fall’s numbers to get a more accurate picture.

“Out here, people are used to driving long distances. But they aren't used to paying that much per gallon of gas,” said Joe McCann, president of Williston State College in North Dakota. “Whether they will be [willing to] next fall, I don't know.”

In an effort to make their commutes as painless as possible, many students in the process of registering for classes have taken a different approach: they’re trying to cram more classes into as few days per week as possible.

To accommodate these scheduling preferences and to help cash- strapped students stay in school, some community colleges are now offering block scheduling which allows students to take more classes in a day and spend fewer days commuting.

At the University of New Mexico-Gallup, students have started signing up for block classes and at many rural community colleges including those in Mississippi and Minnesota, students have already been taking advantage of the four- day schedule.

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