By: Hannah Austin Photo Credit: Stampede Archive
In an online survey of all Milligan undergraduate students, 90 percent reported having 10 percent or more of their costs covered by financial aid. But some students are not satisfied with how financial aid is handled.
Eighty-three of Milligan’s 883 undergraduates responded to the Stampede survey asking about their perceptions of financial aid. The survey was conducted through SurveyMonkey, March 1-14.
Students were given an option to rank financial aid as either “completely inadequate,” “somewhat inadequate,” “somewhat adequate,” “completely adequate,” or not applicable. Forty-five percent said their aid was “somewhat adequate,” making it the most popular choice.
Most respondents, 52 of them, have academic merit scholarships. Over half of these received between $6,000 and $10,000.
Twenty-one students reported having athletic scholarships. Fifty-seven percent of these scholarships were between $6,000 and $10,000 as well.
Betty Goah scholars reported receiving more money than other students. Seven of the participants received above $10,000, compared to only six academic merit scholarship recipients having over $10,000 and only four athletic scholarship recipients having over $10,000.
A $23,000 honors scholarship was the largest single scholarship reported by a participant. Only two students per year are selected for either the Hopwood and Beamer Honors scholarships.
According to Jacqui Steadman, vice president for business and finance, around “92-94 percent of students get some financial aid.”
Although many of the participants received significant financial aid, some had complaints. Many students commented on the lack of need-based scholarships. Others questioned scholarship allocation and efficiency rather than scholarship adequacy and amounts.
“I feel like the FAFSA makes it look as if a family has more income than they actually make. Milligan needs more scholarships and financial aid to help those of us who really struggle to make financial ends meet,” commented a participant.
Several students addressed the need for strengthening affordability for students who don’t receive athletic scholarships. Fourteen athletic scholars, according to the survey results, listed general academic merit scholarships as well.
“There should be greater opportunities for financial aid apart from athletics. If Milligan is to grow and sustain, it needs to be affordable for non athletes,” said another participant who receives an athletic and academic merit scholarship.
Some students recommended having more scholarships to encourage more competitive academic performance.
“There should be more academic scholarships for those who maintain good GPAs as they go through Milligan. The amount should increase as your GPA does,” commented a participant.
While some students commented on scholarship opportunity, work-study positions or tuition, others also discussed their experiences with the financial aid office. Nine of the 40 comments were positive, expressing thankfulness towards receiving assistance. Other comments reported that financial aid often made mistakes and was unhelpful to student problems.
“Everyone in financial aid seems to be trying their best and doing as much as they can, but it has been extremely frustrating because almost every year it never fails that they lose part of my financial aid paper work, and then blame it on me and penalize me in some way,” reported a participant.
UPDATED, March 26, 2013: In response to student complaints, Steadman stressed the importance of student initiative to finish all necessary paperwork and forms. If the Financial Aid Office doesn’t have the right paperwork on time, it cannot process information for student benefit. Steadman also explained that the aid that students receive isn’t necessarily under the jurisdiction of the Financial Aid Office. The financial aid office has certain guidelines and budgets it has to follow.
“We try to really work hard with individual students to meet their individual needs,” said Steadman.
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