Tuition Programs Review

With the increase in college tuition and the limited increase in financial aid funding the lure of new tuition funding programs offer students with financial disadvantages a chance and a college degree.

Websites like lumniusa.net and enzi.org allow an innovate way for students to afford a college without the concerns of private loans.

Michigan State University's Director of financial aid Rick Shipman said, "It is clear that the increase in college costs directly relates to increase stressed on students and their families as they look for more resources to meet those increase costs."

Government financial aid funding doesn't always cover the full cost of college tuition.

"The majority of students who apply for financial aid only qualify for federal student loans and those loans have not increased in many years. Freshman can borrow $5,500, sophomores can borrow $6,500, and other undergraduates can borrow $7,500 per year. That means that the gap between available financial aid and college costs keeps getting wider. This is a significant source of stress," Shipman said.

MSU student feel the strain of limited government funding by having to take out private loans, that can have higher interest rates than federal loans.

Armando Vargas, MSU junior and supply chain management major said, "So far, in one year I've taken out $48,000 in student loans, and $28,000 is in private loans."

While the high price of MSU tuition didn't hinder Vargas's choice to attend MSU he said the thought of having to pay that money back does scare him.

"The new student funding program, generally called 'crowd-sourced' or 'social lending' and can be a good funding source for some students," Shipman said.