School Financing: Dealing with the Cuts

The proposed cuts this year to education on the federal level will exceed $1 billion. While this is happening the same cuts can be seen popping up on a state by state basis, heavily affecting not only University students but grades K-12 as well.  There have been at least 46 states making severe cuts to education. Public schools are being forced to increase class size but their resources are being limited, their ability to replace aging, or in some cases even outdated books or make needed repairs to the school itself.
The problem is no better on a University level. The Pell style grant for instance has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. The income levels for obtaining the grant have gone way down, forcing more middle and lower income students to accept disqualification, and while the amount of the loan has not gone down, it has not gone up either, to keep pace with rising tuition, materials and cost of living requirements.

Obtaining student loans has also been made a great deal harder due to new government restrictions on lending. Cuts in federal money to colleges are now at an all time high. Many schools are no longer able to offer fellowships, a very important feature of post graduate studies, and research grant applications, especially in environmental studies and the sciences in general are being routinely denied.
However there are still many places to get assistance. The first step is to find the right school. This will be a good online education in itself. In many cases this choice will require some sacrifices. The grants and loans are out there but putting together a finance package large enough for Harvard or Stanford, might be a challenge. There are many websites that can help you research schools that will fit your needs. There are also several good websites that not only help you find financing sources but offer articles on different ways to save money while at school.