Letters to the editor
IV Leader Staff, Feb 15, 2007
Students should take advantage of financial aid
Dear Editor:
Thinking about going to college next year?
If so, you should apply soon for financial aid. Now is the
time for anyone considering college attendance in the 2007-08 academic year to
apply for state and federal financial aid. By completing the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)—available for completion online at
www.fafsa.ed.gov or in paper form from the IVCC Financial Aid Office—students
can determine their eligibility for state and federal financial aid grants that
pay for educationally-related expenses.
Annual expenses connected with attending Illinois public
universities are $14,000 to $17,000 or more, depending on the university
selected. Even at a low-cost commuter institution such as IVCC, the total annual
cost of tuition, fees, textbooks, and transportation for a full-time student can
amount to as much as $3,000 to $4,000.
Financial aid can pay for much or most of those costs.
For example, students attending IVCC on either a half-time or full-time basis
and qualifying for financial aid through the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission’s Monetary Award Program (ISAC MAP) could have most of their tuition
and standard fees paid by the ISAC MAP award.
Half-time and full-time IVCC students qualifying for
federally-funded Pell Grants could receive up to $2,025 and $4,050,
respectively, to pay for other related expenses, such as textbooks, laboratory
fees, transportation costs, and food.
Unfortunately, many parents or students do not bother to
complete a FAFSA because they mistakenly believe their family income is too high
to qualify. It costs nothing to apply, and the payoff could be substantial.
To complete the FAFSA for the 2007-08 academic year,
information must be supplied from specific lines of the 2006 federal income tax
returns for both the parents and the student (if applicable), so the FAFSA
should be completed soon after filing your tax returns.
Some students and parents do not apply for financial aid
because they think the FAFSA form looks too complicated. It is actually much
easier to complete than it appears with the step-by-step instructions that are
provided to guide the process.
IVCC’s Financial Aid Office will provide a workshop on FAFSA
completion on the evening of February 28 for additional information.
Specific questions may be directed to IVCC’s Financial Aid
Office at 224-0438 or 224-0264.
Larry Huffman,
President Illinois Valley Community College
Cutting student parkers some slack
Dear Editor,
As I was walking out of the automotive building, I noticed an
IVCC security guard had called a tow truck to haul away a student’s car because
it was parked on the wrong side of a barrier that marked the entrance lane to
the parking lot.
Now, the entrance lane is about as wide as I can throw.
The car, although it was technically parked illegally, was
not blocking any traffic.
Two or three semis, driving side by side, could make it past
that car.
I am sure that the security officer was blindly following
orders, but he could have shown a little compassion to the student who owned the
car and just left him or her a note that he or she was parked in the wrong
place.
It was an honest mistake. Tow trucks cost $100 and that is a
lot of money for a student. I mean, if we were rich, we would be in Harvard, but
this is IVCC. Give us a break.
Gene Trumbo