Scholarships for College Are Cut in Georgia

College scholarships are being reduced in Georgia, both public and private colleges are reducing staff and research projects are on hold, while colleges scramble in order to balance their budgets.

Scholarships for College are Reduced

Laura Diamond of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on Monday June 15, 2009, "Georgia Colleges Stumble as Endowments Tumble. "The endowments the colleges use to help pay for scholarships and other programs have declined by about 25 percent over the past year, according to officials at several Georgia colleges."

Where does this leave students? Some academic scholarships, especially freshman scholarships, are being left alone but athletic and graduate scholarships are taking a hit. The recession is the reason students should be applying for college scholarships from corporations and private foundations, especially those that are requesting essays as these are the least competitive of the lot. If you don't have high SAT scores, top 1%, you are on your own as far as money for school.

Student Loans are on the Rise

Unfortunately most students give in to the temptation of of easy money by borrowing, but the rates are increasing with demand and some students are going to be faced with heavy debt upon leaving school. Schools in general increase their tuition and fees every year but more so during hard times like they are facing now. This increases loans even more.

According to Diamond in her article, "Michael Ruffner, vice president for university advancement at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, said colleges are encouraging donors to contribute to the different endowments." But then what choice do they have other then wait for the funds to recover their losses.

What About College Scholarships in the Future?

Typically foundations as a whole keep a rolling average return that is usually 3-5 years. This means that in the future we could continue to see cuts in budgets and college scholarships until the average return of these endowments and foundations start reporting gains for 3-5 years. Keep in mind though that these cycles seem to go around every 6-7 years.

As officials prepare for this year and in the future they will have fundraising as a high priority as well as hoping that the financial markets will stabilize and increased investment returns giving them some relief.

Students meantime need to seek counseling and get busy applying for scholarships. Lets not forget filling out FAFSA forms for federal grants.

For more on the subject of college scholarships see "The Grant Funding Online Blog".