Quoted In: Tough Economic Times Makes Paying Tuition Difficult (The Miami Herald)

"Money to pay for college? That might be more difficult this school year," The Miami Herald reports. "Start with a sputtering economy, college loan providers exiting the market and disappointing summer job earnings. Stir in a lackluster stock market that has thinned parents’ portfolios and the mix is complicating financing higher education. ‘We’re seeing increases in tuition and states hit hard by budget constraints,’ said Justin Draeger, a spokesman for the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators. College affordability has been an issue for years, he said, but added, ‘we do have a lot going on this year.’"

"For super students who want to give it the old college try next year, there’s always Harvard, which has one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. Although Harvard’s cost of attendance is around $50,000 a year, students whose families make less than $60,000 a year attend the Ivy League school free."

While all that sounds good, getting into Harvard is another thing. About 27,462 students applied for the upcoming school year and only 1,949 were accepted.

”The reality is most low-income students and first-generation college students aren’t attending Harvard,” said Draeger of the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators.

“It’s not a solution to the college affordability issue.”

You can read the complete August 10, 2008 Miami Herald article on-line.