Financial aid might get simpler

Local education officials this week said President Obama’s expansion of federal aid for college-bound students could make the process less intimidating for those seeking financial help.

Provisions included in the so-called health-care reconciliation bill expand the range of Pell Grants and federal financial aid for lower-income students, a move that Glendale Community College officials and high school guidance counselors said would simplify what has been an arduous financial aid system for students.

“It’s complicated, and by simplifying it, I think it will greatly increase the number of students who would even apply for it,” said Rob Feiner, a guidance counselor at John Burroughs High School in Burbank.

“A lot [of students] would give up because of the complications with the application.”

Advocates of the legislation said it will remove banks and student lending agencies that charge fees from the system of government-backed loans.

Opponents have objected to the provisions being tucked into the health-care legislation, and have derided the measure as a job-killing government takeover of student lending.

With the bill signed into law, college-bound students will apply for financial aid through the school directly, not through a bank or lending company. That means students will no longer be indebted to several entities, but instead work with one organization — the federal government.

“Once they’re out of school, it will make it easier for them to track their loans,” said Pat Hurley, associate dean of financial aid at Glendale Community College.

“If a student is in a low-income situation, whether it’s temporary or ongoing because it’s a career choice . . . In that situation, it may be an ideal vehicle.”

The law also expands the eligibility criteria for Pell Grants, which could allow more Glendale and Burbank families to apply, Feiner said.

“The students’ parents fall in this range that they’re not able to get student aid, yet they don’t make enough for them to go to college,” he said.

“From what I’ve read about it, it’ll greatly help those people in the middle class.”