Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

auag By JEFFEELEY fi SUH Writer H College students soon will p be looking for alternative | sources of tuition funds | | thanks to a new federal limit | on amounts students can I borrow for school, according g to a spokesman for USC's j Office of Student Financial i Aid and Scholarships. L Donald Griggs, assistant director for financial aid said, the new limit, which went into effect Oct.l, puts an "income cap" on the amounts students can borrow under the federal P government's Guaranteed Student Loan Program. "This new rule establishes a cut-off point for students nri>/\ f r\ A v^tr wuu wi^ucu IU uuiiuw. mijr dependent student whose family income is over a certain point ($30,000), will have to qualify for aid by taking a 'needs' test," Griggs said. THE TEST, part of the t m congressional budget bill L W passed in July, requires all ' students with family in- i comes esceeding $30,000 to nncfrofo fVtAi r finonninl u^iiiuuoii atV/ uii/ii iiiiaiiviai ^ need. f. Griggs said the "needs" ^ test, devised as a means of ^ eliminating waste the the r program, will not be as ^ detailed as the regular ^ family needs analysis, but it will establish the income c ^ level of the applicant. s * t 1 I be I po loc f I /r"MI i I TT jet Ax 9RssSnR*3l ISm V recently enacted federal I many (JSC students. "Basically, the test will sk the student to report his amily's income for the year e is applying for. He won't e required to submit a tax eturn as when applying for tie basic grant program," e said. Dt?AinAii(?lir nrttr x i uviuu^ijr, any oiuuuu ould apply for a guaranteed tudent loan regardless of I \/ tea Pictures for D ing taken in i Pictures are intment nee< fhe photogr MVI /*N^ r _ VCL V'V SO Commute : Trim <JJ|E mm ? faw limits loans administe his income. ASSOCIATE Director of Financial aid Raymond B. Edwards said this type of "needs" test for government loans is not uncommon. Kight up until 1978, tnere was an income limit on this program. Only those students whose families' JUIN I W/ rbook Pict the 81-82 C the Law Schc taken from ded just sto QpiRCl 19 QI9 it'). uth Tower Lobb> ts Welcome s Stud red by the Guaranteed Studen made less than $25,000 could qualify for loans. Edwards said the new limifc wmilri hpln nrpvpnt abuse of the loan program. "Under the old system, affluent families could borrow this money, and instead of spending it on tuition, they would invest it. This program takes away \IT! Get Yo ture Taken larnet & Blac >ol Student Lou . O.ia <.:i I 0.3\Jdi III ill J P by. o scheduled 1 ' d CI ?J S: |Q|lt ^ ^jl^MI 9^y.-'id^BBwSII^^ ..-H 1 I t Loan Program going to any chance of that happening," he said. EDWARDS said that since most Carolina students who receive loans under the program are below the $30,000 cut-off, the new limit will cause no major tuition problems. "I would say that of the ur Nlmi/I I IVWWi :k are curreri nge I oday. 4:30pm. No . at the follow mm, tans 2,034 Guaranteed Student Loan Program loans we processed in the 1980-1981 school year, a large majority of those students incomes were under $30,000. So I don't believe the impact will be significant this year," he said. iNexi year, nowever, mere could be more cuts or changes in the loan program, creating more nrnhlo m c clnHonl pi V/lk/IVllliJ 1 V/ 1 O V U VI V II V borrowers, Edwards said. "It looks as if the (loan) program is going to be a target of budget cutters again this year, and that will affect the program," he said. Edwards said Congress may decide to change the whole program to a needbased project, similar to the f-? it* _i a. i _ 1 r\ _ nasic r,uucauonai opportunity Grant program. "One plan before Congress calls for the GSL program to be administered totally on ri^nrl onrl in/>A*v\ a uctu caiiw uui uii an uicuuic limit. This would make it much harder for middleincome students to get college loans," he said. Edwards said even if the program itself is not changed, the government may eliminate a subsidy that pays the interest on loans. "The interest subsidv program is extremely expensive, and I have my doubts whether it will survive the next round of budget mile ' ' kn pni/1 luio, lie; oaiu. t H 14- II -^=5=^ itiv i 1 1 ap- J ing | i Xl