What the Stimulus can mean for students

It's official- both the Senate and the House passed some sort of Stimulus package and we, as college students, are a part of it.

According to the Zimbo- an interactive magazine with 15 million readers- the Stimulus package passed by the Senate provides "$13.9 billion for Pell Grants, to increase the maximum grant by $281 in 2009-10 and by $400 for 2010-11, and eliminate an existing shortfall in the program." The House's bill also set up provisions for extra money to be allocated to these grant programs, with $500 to be increased in 2009-10. The Senate bill would also include another $61 billion for the Perkins Loan program, although the bill passed by the House would not.

These are things that will affect you- maybe not today, or tomorrow but definitely when you are in the process of repaying your loans and therefore they are something you should be paying close attention to. The more money you are able to take from the government, instead of from private loans, will ultimately help you because they are lower rates than you get when you apply for private loans, such as the Sallie Mae loans.

According to the Student Lending Analytics blog, the stimulus package would also "provide limited 'emergency access" student loan pool for colleges that commit to providing adequate need-based aid.

• Colleges would have to meet certain criteria and bear some of the risk
• Participation limited to colleges that commit to maintaining or increasing the proportion of student need covered by their own grant aid for the next two years"

This will definitely help some of the colleges who are having to cut back, freeze jobs, or increase tuition in the next few years, but what will it do for students who are at these schools and suffering from the problems caused by the economy? Quinnipiac, for example, is raising their tuition approx. 4%--which according to the myQ announcement is the lowest it has ever been raised, but I think this is the worst possible time for any increase, regardless of how low or high it is.