Paying for college just became easier, thanks to the Bush administration’s recent rulings on… Paying for college just became easier, thanks to the Bush administration’s recent rulings on higher education.

Because of new federal changes in aid laws for higher education, the maximum amount available per student in Pell Grants increased by $260 for the year. A student can receive $4,310 in 2008 through the grant, which does need to be repaid.

Pell Grants are the foundation of federal student financial aid for undergraduates to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources may be added, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Guide to Federal Student Aid.

The amount of grant aid a student receives depends solely on financial need, factoring in the government’s estimate of a student’s expected family contribution and the cost of university attendance.

“I feel like [federal aid] is a big hassle,” Kristina Carson, a fourth-year student in the School of Nursing, said. “Some people I know don’t even know about it or even know how to get it.”

Carson, however, receives multiple methods of financial aid from the federal government, including Pell Grants and a work-study through Pitt’s Honors College.

And she is not alone. According to Suzanne McColloch from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, 8,144 out of almost 15,200 full-time undergraduates in Oakland currently receive some type of financial aid. University merit scholarships and grants, federal grants and loans, state grants, loans from third-party lenders and student employment all add together to make up the $138.5 million that Pitt students have received this year to date.

Approximately 2,900 full- and part-time students at Pitt main campus have received Pell Grants this year. These federal grants make up a large portion of the $10.2 million students have received in the form of federal grants.

In spite of grants, the average indebtedness for a Pitt student who graduated in 2005 or 2006 was $15,300 from just federal loans.

Recent increases in the subsidized Stafford student loan program will allow freshmen to borrow $3,500 and sophomores to borrow $4,500 per year in 2008, up from $2,625 for freshmen and $3,500 for sophomores in 2007. Juniors’ and seniors’ Stafford loan limits remain unchanging at $5,500 per year.

About 10,000 Pitt students currently borrow through the government’s Stafford loans.

In-state tuition for the College of Arts and Sciences this year was $11,368 and was $20,686 for out-of-state students.

On-campus room and board totaled between $5,210 and $9,630.

In order to receive any federal aid including Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Information on deadlines for FAFSA applications is available on www.fafsa.ed.gov.