Some students are complaining about insufficient financial aid and the high cost of a college education, which is determined by both the Federal government and AU.
"I don't think that I got the financial aid package I deserved," sophomore Robyn Foreman said.
There are three types of AU-administered financial aid, according to the Office of Financial Aid: Merit scholarships, athletic scholarships and need-based institutional aid.
Merit scholarships are determined by the Admissions Office, athletic scholarships by the Athletics Department, and the Office of Financial Aid determines need-based aid, the aid most students receive.
The maximum amount of need-based financial aid available is determined by "the cost of attendance minus the Estimated Family Contribution," said Brian Lee Sung, director of Financial Aid. The Estimated Family Contribution, or EFC, is determined by the federal government based on each family's Free Application for Federal Study Aid, or FAFSA.
Sung said AU computes its own Institutional Family Contribution figure (IFC) by looking more in-depth into the financial status of each student. This IFC is then used as another gauge to determine how much institutional aid to give.
AU cannot meet the financial need of all its students because it only has a limited pool of around $36 million for both merit and need-based aid, Sung said.
Because of limited funds available, some students said they and their families are burdened with significant debt.
Foreman said she will feel "a looming guilt that I took all of the money my family had to go to an expensive school and as a result, my siblings will have to rely on either getting very high scholarships or limiting their college selection to in-state colleges."
Freshman Sid Hays said he can only hope to "work hard this year, and hope for more aid next year or I may not be able to come back."
AU evaluates the top 20 percent of the accepted freshman class and distributes merit-based scholarships based solely on high school grades and standardized testing, not any extracurricular activities, according to Anna Seltz, associate director of Undergraduate Admissions.
The fact that the aid received at admission is locked in for the next four years is discouraging, sophomore Trevor Foley said.
"We can't change what we are offered and we also can't do anything about lowering the high cost of tuition," Foley said.
AU-administered financial aid is athletic scholarships, which are "determined by the individual coaches and can only be guaranteed for a one-year period" according to NCAA regulations, said Allison Housman, assistant athletic director for Compliance. Scholarships vary in amount and the respective coaches determine all specific allocations, she said. Some students said they are frustrated by the bureaucratic nature of the financial aid process.
Junior Nicole Washington, whose scholarship was revoked in the summer and just recently reinstated, said, "I have never had a good experience with financial aid as I have had to battle them every time I go down there to get anything done."
When she found out her scholarship had been revoked, she quickly contacted her academic advisor, who helped her resolve the issue. Her advice to others is to talk to "someone who understands the red tape better than your average student."
Senior Candace Leu said persistence paid off.
"They kept losing my paperwork and it got really frustrating, but after a lot of phone calls from my parents and visits from me, my package was straightened out and all my paperwork was complete," Leu said.
"Students who are concerned about their financial aid package should come in and speak to the counselors as our role is to help the students and try to provide them with aid," Sung said.
He said it is very important to file the FAFSA by March 1 every year and visit the Career Center for employment and outside scholarship assistance to reduce the financial burden.
