Scholarships Won't Rise To Meet Increased Costs

The expenses for an upperclass scholarship student will rise by about $100 next year, and the student will have to pay for the increase out of his own pocket.

Chase N. Peterson '52, dean of admissions and financial aid, said last night that scholarship students will be expected to earn $50 more over the summer than in the past and $50 more at their term jobs to pay for the increase.

Peter K. Gunness '57, director of financial aid, said the $100 increase would not overburden scholarship students. "At the moment," he said, "our estimates [of a student's earning capacity] are at least $150 under what most students earn from their term jobs"

Gunness explained that the $100 would cover the $70 increase in the room and board rate which will go into effect next year and a smaller increase in scholarship students' personal allowances. He emphasized that the financial aid office was not planning to increase its scholarship grants by $70, as reported in the CRIMSON last week.

The increase he cited at that time, Gunness said, was an increase in the estimated annual budget of a scholarship student, not the financial aid office's share of the budget. The office estimates that an average budget next year will be $3800, he said--$80 more than the estimate for this year.

Pitch In

"We have to ask the students to pitch in a little harder," Gunness said. "We simply don't have the money ourselves."

"We have recognized the increased earning capacity of students," Peterson added. A student working a 10-hour week for 30 weeks can easily earn $600 during the school year, he said, pointing out that the increase will ask students to use only $500 of their term-time earnings to meet their college expenses.

The $65,000 increase in the Faculty's contribution to the financial aid office, approved last week will not be used to help scholarship students meet their rising budgets, as reported in the March 9 CRIMSON.

Phase Out

The $65,000, Gunness said, will cover increases in freshman scholarships resulting from the phase-out of the National Merit Scholarships and the use of the revised College Scholarship service tables.

Gunness explained that the new tables--which guide the aid office in its scholarship awards--will increase the value of some freshman scholarships and will alleviate the pressure on "average to middle income families." He said that financing for these families has been "pretty tight" in the past.

But Gunness emphasized that the $100 increase does not represent an effort to "subsidize" middle class students.