Many worry about how to foot the bill for college

Iraq, the economy, Sarah Palin —those appear to be top issues in the 2008 presidential race.

But according to a recent study by the National Education Association, the nation’s biggest school employees union, 70 percent of parents said that paying for college ranks high on their list of concerns.

They have cause for worry: Nationwide, college tuition has increased by 35 percent in the last five years, while household incomes have remained flat.

The figures indicating mounting stress: This year, 18,000 more students applied for financial aid than last year, said John Klacik, director of financial services for the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board. Forty percent of those students are very low income, Klacik said.

“I’d hate to characterize it as an increase in poverty, although I think ultimately that’s what it may mean,” Klacik said. Historically, “sudden increases in (financial aid applications) have tended to mean that students and young adults are having problems with the employment market or with earnings and are therefore returning back to colleges.”

Indeed, enrollment at two- and four- year colleges is up nationwide, according to a recent Census Bureau report. More than 20 million students were enrolled in 2006, up three million from 2000.

In the last decade, tuition has doubled to about $6,800 this year at Washington State University and University of Washington. That figure doesn’t include room, board or living expenses.

As tuition increases, students are more likely to turn to private loans.

“Turning to private alternative loans is becoming increasingly difficult as many lenders opt out of this type of lending or have drastically increased the standards (credit worthiness) to receive a loan from those programs,” WSU Vancouver director Alyson Galloway said in an e-mail.

The increased number of students applying for financial aid won’t affect the state’s budget, as the federal government doles out financial aid and doesn’t limit spots for students receiving aid.

All students who file a Free Application for Students Financial Aid (FAFSA) can receive Stafford loans, which are low-interest, government-backed loans.

Good news

There are some silver linings to the college tuition dilemma, however, in that college tuition has become a pet issue for several legislators at both state and federal levels.

When news got out last spring that some major banks stopped providing community colleges, including Clark College, and some four-year schools with loans, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Brian Baird said they would sponsor legislation that would demand banks to offer government-guaranteed loans to all students.

And Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, pushed for the College Bound scholarships, which pay for college of low income students who pledge to maintain good grades through high school.

The Legislature set aside $14.8 million over two years for the scholarship, which was launched this year and enlisted more than 16,000 low income seventh- and eighth-graders. Because so few students applied, the Legislature extended the offer to ninth-graders this year.

Isolde Raftery: 360-735-4546 or isolde.raftery@columbian.com.