Plenty of Financial Aid Available, Just Need to Work Hard to Find It

Harry Le Grande, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the University of California, Berkeley wrote a letter to the editor on May 7, 2009, that underscored the harsh reality of being denied financial aid this Great Recession. Yet he also offered a bit of hope and advice: "All middle-class students and their parents should know that other avenues of assistance exist, including the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which ensures that families with total income of less than $60,000 have their systemwide fees covered by grants and scholarships." The UC system follows strict federal formulas for calculating financial aid eligibility, so this is a welcomed relief to those lower- and middle-income families.

One student received a mere $212 in financial aid from Berkeley - more of a token gesture than anything - and so hopes to get accepted to a more selective, smaller liberal arts school, on the chance that the school will pay his tuition in full. As May 1 hit, the day Berkeley's $100 deposit was due, one student netted about $1,500 in outside scholarships, mostly from the California Scholarship Federation, a statewide organization. Other organizations to apply for college assistance: Rotary Club of Los Angeles (up to $2,000 grants), and D.R.E.A.M.S. ($5000 grant for Developing a Responsible, Educated and Moral Society). There's more money for college out there than ever before, it just takes more determination and perseverance to get it.