Financial Aid

President Bush is encouraging high school seniors to apply for federal financial aid for the 2002-03 school year, touting the program for making more federal assistance available and making the application process easier for students. This year, an estimated $49.4 billion in federal grants, loans and work-study opportunities will be awarded to about 8.2-million students. Financially needy students may qualify for grants or federally subsidized loans where the government pays the interest while the borrower is in school.

Two computers stolen from Vanguard University earlier this month have put more than 5,000 financial aid applicants at risk for identity theft, authorities said today. On Jan. 16, school employees discovered someone had taken the computers from the school’s financial aid office over the Martin Luther King weekend. Initially university officials had no idea the computers contained sensitive data, said Ed Westbrook, the school’s vice president of student affairs. “At first we thought it was just computer theft,” he said.

Two computers stolen from Vanguard University earlier this month have put more than 5,000 financial aid applicants at risk for identity theft, authorities said today. On Jan. 16, school employees discovered that someone had taken the computers from the school's financial aid office over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. Initially university officials had no idea the computers could contain sensitive data, said Ed Westbrook, the school's vice president of student affairs.

With college application deadlines looming, parents of college bound high school students are welcome to attend a free workshop, "How to Pay for College Without Going Broke," on Thursday evening at the Costa Mesa library. As the president of the Irvine-based College Planning Specialists of California, Norm Van Wieren will offer tips on how to get money for college, including increasing eligibility for grant money, finding scholarships and qualifying for financial aid. The presentation begins at 7:15 p.m. at the Donald Dungan Branch Library, 1855 Park Ave. The event is free, though seating is limited.

The SOS Star Team was honored at a recent luncheon held at Five Crowns in Corona del Mar. Some 100 donors to Share Our Selves Costa Mesa gathered for what has become known as the onion luncheon. Generous SOS supporter Kathy Thompson, 1950s Hollywood starlet and current Corona del Mar resident, founded the Star Team in 1994. Thompson gives a bag of sweet Imperial County onions from her ranch to each of the Star Team donors. This year, more than 1,000 pounds were distributed. Funds raised go directly to programs aiding the needy, providing food, clothing, medical and dental care, counseling, financial aid and more.

State budgets are shrinking, college costs are rising, and students have little choice but to plunge headlong into debt just to get a college degree. There has never been a greater need than now to invest in financial aid for students. Students like me.   As a junior at the University of California Irvine who will graduate with 20,000 dollars in debt, I urge Senators Feinstein and Boxer to vote for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act currently being considered in Congress.

Without expected state money, OCC and UCI are deep in uncharted financial territory, and they have had to resort to funding schemes that may end up costing them in order to ride out the state’s budget delay. Because of the record budget stalemate, both schools are operating without tens of millions of dollars in government funds, but they still need to pay their workers and give financial assistance to their students. The Coast Community College District, which operates OCC and two other area schools, is quickly burning through money it has in its reserve, and soon it may have to resort to drawing cash from a $25-million line of credit it has negotiated with the county treasurer.

California finally passed a budget late Friday after a record-setting delay, but the long wait still dealt a financial blow to local colleges OCC and UCI. Because of the record budget stalemate, both schools spent more than two months operating without tens of millions of dollars in government funds, but they still needed to pay their workers and give financial assistance to their students. The Coast Community College District, which operates OCC and two other area schools, got by with money it had in its reserve, and may have had to resort to drawing from a $25-million line of credit if the budget hadn’t come through in time.

Marisa O'Neil Students in the UC and community college systems will pay up to 44% more for classes under the budget proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday. Community college fees will go up from $18 per unit to $26 per unit to help the state out of its hole, and UC fees will increase 10% for undergraduate students and 40% for graduate students. "We want to work with the governor to address the [state budget] problem," UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman said.

Deirdre Newman Many students who stuck around the campus during the first week of winter break on Tuesday said they were not aware of the fee hikes imposed by the University of California on Monday. When they learned about the $135-per-quarter student fee increase that will start in January, they greeted the news with the same disdain as taking their finals. "I feel like it kind of sucks for students who want an education after high school," said 21-year-old senior Jocelynn Garcia, who works in the information booth at the school's Student Center.

Two foreign policy experts at UC Irvine have questioned the wisdom of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's sponsorship of a House bill that would end U.S. financial aid to Pakistan. But the Republican Costa Mesa congressman stood by his proposal, saying he feels that Islamabad is not a trustworthy ally because Osama bin Laden was able to hide in Pakistan. In interviews with the Daily Pilot, UCI professors Mark LeVine and Cecelia Lynch suggested that cutting aid to the South Asian linchpin in the U.S. war against terrorism could be an unwise move that undermines American security in the region.

State budgets are shrinking, college costs are rising, and students have little choice but to plunge headlong into debt just to get a college degree. There has never been a greater need than now to invest in financial aid for students. Students like me.   As a junior at the University of California Irvine who will graduate with 20,000 dollars in debt, I urge Senators Feinstein and Boxer to vote for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act currently being considered in Congress.

A California assemblyman who wants to levy a tax on the state’s oil drillers appeared Thursday at Orange Coast College, pitching his bill to a group of student senators and pointing out that California pays $2 billion more a year on prisons than higher education. The Assembly’s majority leader, Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont), urged the senators to take part in the campaign to raise fees on California’s oil industry, a move that could raise as much as $2 billion a year, nearly a half-million of which would be earmarked for community colleges statewide.

Going back to school is nerve-wracking for students as they begin worrying about what to wear, if they will make friends and how much homework they will get, but for 19-year-old Musa Ahmed, the real worry comes from whether he will be able to get all his classes — and his financial aid. Ahmed’s financial aid is contingent upon being a full-time student at Orange Coast College, but so far, he hasn’t been able to register for...

Vanguard University in Costa Mesa is consistently regarded as one of the United States’ top undergraduate universities, as proven by its rankings in the latest report by the U.S. News & World Report. The college was ranked No. 5 in the Western United States by the magazine last week, school officials announced. Rankings are determined through a university’s student retention, selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate and more. Faculty from the universities also assess other institutions, and the publication takes into account alumni donations, too. Vanguard made the top five in the West for the third year in a row. Universities were divided into four regions — North, South, Midwest and West — and 319 baccalaureate schools were considered.

California finally passed a budget late Friday after a record-setting delay, but the long wait still dealt a financial blow to local colleges OCC and UCI. Because of the record budget stalemate, both schools spent more than two months operating without tens of millions of dollars in government funds, but they still needed to pay their workers and give financial assistance to their students. The Coast Community College District, which operates OCC and two other area schools, got by with money it had in its reserve, and may have had to resort to drawing from a $25-million line of credit if the budget hadn’t come through in time.

Without expected state money, OCC and UCI are deep in uncharted financial territory, and they have had to resort to funding schemes that may end up costing them in order to ride out the state’s budget delay. Because of the record budget stalemate, both schools are operating without tens of millions of dollars in government funds, but they still need to pay their workers and give financial assistance to their students. The Coast Community College District, which operates OCC and two other area schools, is quickly burning through money it has in its reserve, and soon it may have to resort to drawing cash from a $25-million line of credit it has negotiated with the county treasurer.

With college application deadlines looming, parents of college bound high school students are welcome to attend a free workshop, "How to Pay for College Without Going Broke," on Thursday evening at the Costa Mesa library. As the president of the Irvine-based College Planning Specialists of California, Norm Van Wieren will offer tips on how to get money for college, including increasing eligibility for grant money, finding scholarships and qualifying for financial aid. The presentation begins at 7:15 p.m. at the Donald Dungan Branch Library, 1855 Park Ave. The event is free, though seating is limited.

Two computers stolen from Vanguard University earlier this month have put more than 5,000 financial aid applicants at risk for identity theft, authorities said today. On Jan. 16, school employees discovered that someone had taken the computers from the school's financial aid office over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. Initially university officials had no idea the computers could contain sensitive data, said Ed Westbrook, the school's vice president of student affairs.

Two computers stolen from Vanguard University earlier this month have put more than 5,000 financial aid applicants at risk for identity theft, authorities said today. On Jan. 16, school employees discovered someone had taken the computers from the school’s financial aid office over the Martin Luther King weekend. Initially university officials had no idea the computers contained sensitive data, said Ed Westbrook, the school’s vice president of student affairs. “At first we thought it was just computer theft,” he said.