2 minute read
Finance frenzy
Economy down, students need more classes, money
Michaia Hernandez, Coburn Palmer / Roundup
Editor’s note: Financial aid are two words students are all too familiar with. It offers a sum of money to individual students in the hopes of providing extra funds to pay for tuition, books, healthcare on campus and any other school necessities. With the economy still in a slump, the recent fee increases to $36 per unit and the possibility of more than 6,000 students being displaced due to budget cuts, students are at a loss.
In an effort to find out about student needs for financial aid, the Roundup spoke with several students to see how their money is spent, the results and outcomes of fewer courses being offered and the effect the economy has on their financial aid status. Their stories can be found and read online.
Here is one woman’s struggle and story:
A single parent, a mother to one and a student, all the while being on financial aid, Pierce College is full of them.
Maria Cachay is a 21-year-old business major, a full-time student, a part-time promoter for organic coffee and a mother to 3-year-old Melanie Hernandez.
Cachay is taking five classes this semester, one of which offers free tax services to Pierce students.
“It’s tough, but it’s something you have to do,” said Cachay.
She applauds the ‘Enough is Enough’ rally that recently took place in and around Pierce’s campus.
“If students don’t say anything [about the issue of tuition increase and budget cuts for community colleges], the legislators are just going to keep raising fees,” she said.
Cachay applied for financial aid during her first year as a college student, but she wasn’t able to make the deadline for applications.
The main reason for the aforementioned situation was the fact that she wasn’t well informed.
This same circumstance almost occurred a second time.
“I actually just barely turned in my application for this year,” she said. “I just didn’t know [about the deadlines].”
Despite her 6 a.m. to midnight days, the importances of learning and being a role model to her daughter remain constant.
Like most parents, Cachay places value in education.
“I think education is the future,” she said. “[The government] can take money away from somewhere else, but not from education.”
