By By Ashley Dean, News Correspondent

With university funds drying up recently, schools have taken numerous measures to stay afloat financially. And though some are concerned that universities will favor wealthier students as they try to recoup costs, these fears have not been realized at Northeastern.
With the end of the spring semester in sight, and nearly 3,000 recently accepted students for Fall 2009, Northeastern is already seeing changes in scholarships and need-based aid.
A college education has never been easy to afford, but the struggling economy has made it harder and forced schools to revamp their financial aid programs, Director of Financial Aid Services Anthony Erwin said.
Erwin said Northeastern does not favor families with more money. It is a problem that naturally exists and the economy only brings it into sharper focus, he said. In fact, the economy might help some students because it has drawn the university’s attention to their financial difficulties, resulting in more aid.
‘We have some significant funding that we were able to offer students this year and that’s a direct result of the economy,’ Erwin said. The school has begun to cut unnecessary costs and move that money to financial aid.
That money is primarily in the form of need-based aid, but the school is also working to make students more aware of scholarship opportunities, Erwin said.
Erwin also said the economy has fueled competition between universities trying to make their financial aid packages more appealing to incoming students in need.
‘The changes to some of our scholarships for next year are based on our competition with other institutions,’ Erwin said. The goal, he said, is to attract students by awarding more money.
Kamran Dadkhah, an associate professor of economics at Northeastern, said any benefits for wealthier students would be coincidental. The reality is that students who can afford tuition are the ones who will be able to attend.
‘I don’t think people will sit down and consciously think, ‘these are poor kids, let’s not accept them,” Dadkhah said. ‘The amount of financial aid is limited.’
Looking at the bigger picture, Dadkhah said schools of all types are suffering from the same pressure Northeastern faces. Other private schools that rely on tuition will see problems, as well as public schools that are government funded. Even schools that received endowments are affected. Harvard, for instance, has already lost a considerable amount of its money, Dadkhah said. Northeastern has seen a 25 percent slide in its endowment since June 30, according to an article in the March 19 edition of The News.
For now, Dadkhah said he believes President Barack Obama’s stimulus package will be helpful. Pell Grants and other forms of student financial aid have received $17 billion as part of the package. His first bill as an Illinois senator was to raise the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100, though it is currently only $4,731. He also intends to create the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which will offer students $4,000 of college tuition in exchange for 100 hours of community service.
For students like Carson Johnson, a middler art major, even $4,000 can make a difference. Johnson said she receives $5,000 a year for an academic scholarship and $2,000 through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
‘Right now, [my parents] are freaking out about it,’ Johnson said. ‘I don’t really know how much we get for loans, but I know it’s tight.’
Michelle Gravallese, a middler athletic training major, said she only gets $2,000 in financial aid. She applies for aid through FAFSA every year and receives the same amount.
‘I think it’s a pain to go through the whole process each year and your parents have to figure out how much they’ve made. It’s not even worth it,’ she said.
Gravallese, Johnson and other upperclassmen said the downturn is troubling.
‘Already, wealthier people go to college over poorer people,’ Johnson said. ‘The recession is only going to enhance that.’