Influx of student aid applications leaves agency short
The TSAC has requested additional funding from the state. The Senate Education Committee last week approved the money, but the measure must be approved by both houses in the General Assembly.
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” TSAC Executive Director Michael Roberts said. “Otherwise, we’ll process students the way we normally do each year — when we run out, we run out.”
The corporation was allocated $41 million for student grants, which will be depleted earlier than last year because of the new lottery scholarships, officials said.
The same application required for a TSAC grant — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — also is what students fill out to become eligible for a lottery scholarship, officials said. As a result, more students are learning they’re eligible for aid in addition to the lottery scholarship.
Applications have more than doubled from this time last year, with 64,917 students seeking aid compared to 26,741, officials said. The forms must be processed by May 1 to qualify for a lottery scholarship or federal financial aid, but Roberts does not expect the money to last that long.
Jonathan Looney, director of financial aid at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said he warned state officials that requiring students to use a FAFSA form to qualify for lottery scholarships was dangerous.
“We’re hoping Tennessee will do what Georgia did and come up with a one-page alternative application (for the lottery scholarships),” he told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Brian Noland of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission said the extra applicants mean more students will be going to college next year who normally might not have pursued a post-secondary education.
“That was the point of the lottery all along,” Noland said.
But as applicants increase, the amount of money available for state need-based aid was cut by 9 percent this year, or about $4 million.
The maximum state grant a student attending a public college can receive is $2,322 a year. A private college student can get up to $5,600 in aid a year.
The increased applications are a double-edged sword, Noland said.
“The fact that we have more students filling out FAFSAs, making them eligible for state and federal aid is a good thing,” Noland said. “The fact that we’ve run out of money and won’t be able to assist needy Tennesseans is a bad thing.”
About 8,000 students have met the initial eligibility requirements to receive HOPE scholarships, which are funded by proceeds from the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. HOPE scholars must have a 3.0 grade point average or score at least 19 on the ACT to be eligible for assistance up to $4,000.
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On the Net:
Tennessee Student Assistance Corp.: http://www.state.tn.us/tsac/