For journalism junior Kevin Curtin, learning is more important than money.
"The most important thing in life is being educated and knowing what's going on in the world," said Curtin, 20. "I didn't go to college to have the highest-paying job.
"I just wanted to learn."
When he's not juggling his 16-credit schedule or playing guitar in his punk band, Curtin works 30-40 hours a week at Spartan Lanes bowling alley in the basement of the Union.
"I'm more independent now than I was beginning college," Curtin said. "Unfortunately, that means that I have to pay for all this wonderful education on my own."
Because he's ineligible to receive grant money, Curtin must work long hours at the bowling alley to pay for rent and food.
In addition, he'll borrow about $35,000 in loans to pay for two and a half more years of college.
Curtin is one of millions of dependent, full-time students in the nation whose parents surpass Federal Pell Grant's expected family contribution standard of $3,850 a semester. Under current federal law, students who exceed this standard by just one dollar are ineligible to receive any government or university need-based aid at all.
"It's not like I committed a felony or anything," Curtin said about his ineligibility. "My parents just make too much money."
Middle-class 'gap'
These students make up a population of middle-class students unable to obtain college grants, according to MSU student financial aid officials. Various factors explain why college has gradually become less and less affordable for middle-of-the-road students during the past two decades.
From 1980 to 2000, public colleges and universities have sharply increased tuition during times of economic downturn to keep in pace with national inflation rates, according to a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education titled "Losing Ground."
The report states due to recessions in the early '80s, '90s and present, the amount of family income spent on tuition has increased for all families except for those in the top 20 percent of the income bracket.
In 1980, for each child from a low-income family enrolled in a public four-year college, 13 percent of a family's income was consumed on tuition alone. In 2000, it increased to 25 percent, "Losing Ground" reported. From 1992 through 2001, tuition rose faster than family income.
MSU Director of Financial Aid Rick Shipman said he blames poor government funding for the growing gap between student resources and college costs.
"The bulk of the dollars students get are federal student loans, but they haven't increased in 20 years," Shipman said, adding that Michigan's state government plans to cut more.
The total amount a student can borrow from the federal government is $2,625, which has not changed since 1980. In 1980, that covered 150 percent of a student's tuition. Today, it only covers 49 percent.
"The dollar amount that was decent 20 years ago just doesn't cut it today," Shipman said.
But Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the administration has worked to keep tuition reasonable.
"In late February, the governor proposed financial incentives for state universities to keep tuition increases with the rate of inflation," Boyd said.
And State Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, said Michigan isn't the only state having problems funding higher education.
"We're in tough budget times throughout the nation, so we all have to pull together to try to fix our situation in education," Cropsey said.
He added that every area of state government has worked closely with the budget to help create the best situation possible for education.
Pell Grant growth
Shipman said the only federal program that's grown significantly is the Federal Pell Grant.
"The maximum award level has increased almost every year, except for the past three due to a poor national economy," he said.
Three years ago, Pell Grants increased from a $4,000 maximum for one year, to $4,050. However, Shipman estimates that the average rise in tuition for colleges nationally has been about 3 percent each year since Pell Grant's last increase.
Shipman said MSU not only has kept its tuition increases to the rate of inflation for the past seven years, but has also been the only four-year institution in Michigan to do so.
"During that time, the financial aid from the federal government was growing at a slower rate than MSU's tuition increases," Shipman said. "So the gap was growing even at a time when we had the lowest increases in the state. And with a fixed pot of money to share, universities are forced to give aid to the neediest students first.
"Since we can't expect parents to borrow more than they can afford or students to borrow more than federal government allows, those students in this gap are left with fewer and fewer options," he said.
However, when Shipman said he brought up the growing gap to national and state legislatures in the past, "they often blame the gap on colleges raising prices faster than the rate of economic inflation."
Finding time for funding
With Pell qualifiers given the bulk of need-based aid available and a trend of higher-income students absorbing more and more merit awards and scholarships, work-study and student loans are more and more becoming the only choices for middle-class students to take.
These options can take a toll on the financial, academic and mental fortitude of some students.
With her family in Lagos, Nigeria, unable to pay the remaining tuition her Pell Grant doesn't cover, computer engineering senior Oby Iweze works two jobs to pay $2,500 a semester as she works for her doctorate.
"In high school, I got straight A's, was class president and all that kind of stuff," Iweze said, "But when you work so much, you get tired quickly knowing you still have to study."
When she has spare time in the week, the 22-year-old does housing surveys by phone at the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research in Berkey Hall. With a sporadic weekly work schedule and a 13-credit class load, Iweze said she is often too tired at the end of the day to do any reading for her classes.
"It's especially hard during finals week when everyone is requesting time off," Iweze said. "Work is always trying to keep as many people there as they can, so lots of extra hours are available.
"It gets hard to balance your need for money with your need to do well in your classes."
Curtin said he's in a similar situation now that he's left his Ann Street house and must pay for both tuition and housing on his own.
"I'm a bit afraid that the amount of student debt I'm going to have is going to force me to get a job for the sake of money rather than for the sake of doing what I want to do," Curtin said. "I'm not interested in settling down with a job right after I graduate, which wouldn't be very conducive to paying loans at all."
Although the financial burden involved with paying for higher education can be difficult, many believe the college investment is worth the costs.
"Parents want to send their kids to a quality school with quality facilities," Shipman said, "Resources aren't cheap and every cent spent on tuition goes towards quality."
Curtin said he agrees.
"The college experience has absolutely been worth the trouble," he said. "I'd like to do other things than just immediately get a job in my field and start earning income, but at least I'll have the option of getting a job in a field I want to be in."
