As tuition continues to rise at post-secondary schools around the country, more students are asking the government to help foot the bill.
From the academic years 2000-2001 to 2005-2006, the percentage of students who applied for federal aid increased at all types of institutions, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. The most dramatic increase came from community colleges.
In that time, 37 percent more students from two-year colleges in the U.S. applied for aid, compared to increases of about 10 and 7 percent at four-year public and private schools, respectively.
Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of student loan Web site FinAid, attributed the application increases to rising tuition costs without raises in the workplace to match.
Since 2001, the cost of one credit hour at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has risen about 67 percent, more than twice the percentage increase at local Southeast Community College in that time period.
This academic year, one credit hour costs $169.50 at UNL, compared to $46 at SCC.
However, about 30 percent of SCC students will transfer to four-year schools, including UNL, and pay higher tuition there.
About 70 percent of students at SCC receive aid or loans from the government, said Donna Hill, a technician in the SCC office of student loans, with the majority of that aid coming from Pell grants.
Almost 3,200 students, or roughly 14 percent, of people enrolled at UNL are Pell grant recipients, said Craig Munier, UNL's director of scholarships and financial aid.
SCC has a greater percentage of non-traditional students than UNL, Hill said, who are more eligible for grants than the average UNL student since they are no longer dependants of their parents.
"We work with a lot of displaced workers and homemakers going back to school," she said. "They're not just the young 18-year-olds coming out of high school."
The college has made a conscious effort in recent years to encourage its students to file for federal aid, assisting with paperwork and posting reminders around campus, said Rose Ohlsen, a financial aid secretary at SCC.
"We're making students more aware that they can apply," she said.
The increase in community college students applying for aid shouldn't have any repercussions on aid available for students at four-year schools, said Kantrowitz.
"It doesn't work like that," he said. "If you're eligible, you get it."
rachelalbin@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
