The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and how it affects college students

President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the new economic stimulus package) into law on February 17, 2009.  ‘The act’ as the U.S Department of Education calls it, will have a major impact on the way the education system is funded.  With billions of dollars being spent this year and in subsequent years how will this new law affect students?

 

Nearly $77 billion dollars will go directly to fund education initiatives with around $30.8 billion  going to ensure college affordability.  This portion of the package allows for the maximum Pell Grant limit to be raised by $500 allowing students to potentially receive up to $5,350 in the form of the grant. To fund this increase $17 billion will be used to close the monetary shortfall in the Pell Grant program from previous years.  The shortfall was caused by the downturn in the economy, and an increase in applicants who are applying for financial aid.  According to a New York Times article published September 17, 2008 by Sam Dillion and Tamar Lewin,

 

“In the first six months of 2008, almost nine million students nationwide completed the federal aid application required for federal grants and loans, a 16 percent increase over last year.”

 

 

 

School requires extenive hours of studying, no time to worry about moeny.

With more students applying for aid to better your chances of receiving any money, be it in the form of grants or loans, it is a good idea to apply early.  The deadline to apply for federal aid this year is June 30^th.

 

To apply for federal financial aid you must complete the FASFA  (free application for federal student aid) and the SARS report (student aid report).  All of this information will be used to determine eligibility for aid.

 

Another form of aid available to students and parents who claim students as dependents are tax credits.  A tax credit reduces the amount of taxes a person actually pays it does not reduce the overall amount of money that will be taxed.  The Hope credit can be used for students who are in their first two years of college and another tax credit called the Lifetime Learning Credit can be used by students who complete more than two years of schooling.  The IRS provides a simple chart that can explain who is eligible for the credit and who is not. 

 

 

While campaigning and in his current agenda, Obama promotes the American Opportunity tax credit.  This credit would provide a one-time $4,000 tax credit at the time of college enrollment.  In return for the tax credit 100 hours of community service would need to be preformed.  How those 100 hours would be monitored is not clear.  The AOTC would replace the Hope and Lifetime Learning credits.

A short video on financial aid is available from CNN.

 

So how does all of this affect communications students?   Financial aid and government assistance are all determined on ‘need’ a number of other factors but the job market for the communications industry is going strong.  An article from the Bureau of Labor statistics points out that

 

“Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than average for all occupations. The need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive business environment should spur demand for these workers in organizations of all types and sizes. Those with additional language capabilities also are in great demand.”

 

The site also gives salary information noting that the median income is around $47,350.  Obviously income and job growth should be looked into when selecting a major and a school.  Listed are a few quality schools for public relations.

 

• Kent State University (sorry all, had to go first as this is where I am learning about the industry.)  The real list (information found on education-portal.com) starts now.

 

• Bradley University
• Clarke College
• Emerson College

 

Each school offers different benefits and programs devoted to the study of the public relations field.  I’m sure each school also offers different ways to fund the education.  Be sure to take funding and location into account before jumping into college.  Blind spending is one of the reasons we got into this economic mess.