The effects of 9-11 have been seen in almost every aspect of life in the past year, but now they have hit SMU’s financial aid office.
Mike Novak, executive director of Enrollment Services and Financial Aid, said the increased demand due to the suffering economy “came as a huge wallop.” While the office anticipated more financial need based on the larger first-year class, larger retention rate and increased number of transfers, nobody anticipated that the weak economy would put so much pressure on the office. Not only do more students need money, the average need for each student has also climbed.
“One of the things we have found this year is an extraordinary amount of late requests,” Novak said.
While the office seemed right on target with its budget through the middle of July, in August the financial aid office was faced with unprecedented demand. Although it is hard to pinpoint a reason for the late influx of financial aid applications, Novak said he feels that many families were holding out to see if there was a change in their financial situation over the summer months.
“Our policy has historically been to meet the needs of everyone who applies,” he said.
But certain changes had to be implemented this year as early projections put the office almost $3 million over budget. In addition, some scholarships are suffering because money expected from earnings on endowed school funds is significantly less than previous years due to low yields on investments.
Although the same aid policies from the previous 6 years are still in place, it is not “business as usual” for the office. Novak said it was necessary to implement certain control measures to get the office back on track.
First, aid counselors are awarding aid one semester at a time for certain students, especially those who are in need because of the loss of a job or a parent is out of work. Counselors and students can then get together next semester to reassess the situation and see if that aid is still necessary.
Despite the fact that SMU typically does not advise students to take multiple loans, counselors are advising students that can’t get the money elsewhere to look into taking out an additional loan. This is most commonly suggested for upperclassmen who statistically have a good track record for paying the loans back and for students who waited until the money was nearly gone to submit their applications.
“Since I got my application in on time, I was fortunate enough to get the money I needed,” said first-year Lisa Lagravinese. “Then, there are lots of people I know who waited and weren’t so lucky.”
Even with these control measures in place, the financial aid office could end up $1.6 million over budget – a swing of nearly $3 million since the office came out $1.7 million under budget for its last fiscal year – something Novak said he hasn’t seen in his 13 years at SMU.
In the midst of all the action at the financial aid office, many students and families feel they have been left in dark. Complaints have ranged from having difficulty contacting their counselors to not receiving the aid they feel they deserved.
Teresa Williams, a sophomore’s mother, said she put in nine messages with her daughter’s financial aid counselor before she received a response.
Novak said the counselors understand those concerns.
“We are working real hard to treat the students right, but it has been hard with the sheer numbers.”
He said some counselors receive 20-50 calls each day, as well as walk-ins.
Since the peak processing period is just winding down, there may still be students who have not received their awards or do not feel that they received an adequate amount. In instances where all of the proper paper work has been submitted, Novak said it is now in the office’s hands.
Students who feel that their financial aid package was inadequate have some recourse. They go through the financial aid office to file an appeal. Novak suggests students look into the employment services on campus. Students can also try scholarship searches on the web for additional funds.
