Students Still Waiting for Financial Aid
YAKIMA -- The recession still has a tight grip on local students. YVCC is breaking records for the number of students asking for financial aid. But KIMA discovered, many of those students are still waiting for their money.
"I wish they could just get it before school starts, because this is just ridiculous," said Chandra Pease.
Chandra is one of about 2,100 students still waiting for financial aid. She's one of the lucky ones who can afford to pay for classes while she waits. Others have resorted to taking just one class or are putting school off until the spring. 4,200 students applied for money this fall. That's up by nearly a fifth since last year. Which has created a logjam.
"The number of backlogged applications that are still waiting for attention, that number is up by 33% from previous years," said Tomas Ybarra, Vice President of Student Services with YVCC.
As more students ask for aid, the money is quickly running out. State need grants are gone, and work study was depleted a long time ago. Government-supported loans and Pell grants are about all that's left.
Chandra finds herself both waiting for approval, and waiting to check on that approval, "I've been waiting since summertime for it, so I'm checking on it now."
The school is now also offering an option for students to check their status online so they don't have to wait in long lines.
But because it's so new, most students don't even know about it. The school is also trying to speed things up by asking other departments to help out with the paperwork. Since there's no money to hire anyone new, a current employee was moved to help with financial aid.
In the meantime, students need to find another way to pay for school.
YVC students are not the only ones affected. Most colleges in our state are seeing delays on financial aid. At Wenatchee Valley College, it's gotten so bad the financial aid office is now closed on Fridays so staff can spend more time trying to catch up on all the paperwork.
"I wish they could just get it before school starts, because this is just ridiculous," said Chandra Pease.
Chandra is one of about 2,100 students still waiting for financial aid. She's one of the lucky ones who can afford to pay for classes while she waits. Others have resorted to taking just one class or are putting school off until the spring. 4,200 students applied for money this fall. That's up by nearly a fifth since last year. Which has created a logjam.
"The number of backlogged applications that are still waiting for attention, that number is up by 33% from previous years," said Tomas Ybarra, Vice President of Student Services with YVCC.
As more students ask for aid, the money is quickly running out. State need grants are gone, and work study was depleted a long time ago. Government-supported loans and Pell grants are about all that's left.
Chandra finds herself both waiting for approval, and waiting to check on that approval, "I've been waiting since summertime for it, so I'm checking on it now."
The school is now also offering an option for students to check their status online so they don't have to wait in long lines.
But because it's so new, most students don't even know about it. The school is also trying to speed things up by asking other departments to help out with the paperwork. Since there's no money to hire anyone new, a current employee was moved to help with financial aid.
In the meantime, students need to find another way to pay for school.
YVC students are not the only ones affected. Most colleges in our state are seeing delays on financial aid. At Wenatchee Valley College, it's gotten so bad the financial aid office is now closed on Fridays so staff can spend more time trying to catch up on all the paperwork.
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