11-19-09: Stanford: Full financial aid picture released

When the University announced earlier this year that the endowment had fallen 27 percent for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, administrators vowed to uphold student financial aid policies — despite the fact that the endowment payout supporting financial aid was decreasing while a greater number of students were applying for financial aid.

At the peak of the economic downturn last year, administrators worried about the toll that the economy would take on families paying for tuition, anticipating an increase in the number of financial aid applications. According to new data released by the Office of Development, the amount of financial aid applications for the incoming freshman Class of 2013 increased by 25 percent over the previous class, while an “unusually high number” of upperclassmen also qualified for scholarship support.

The official release also indicates that nearly 80 percent of the Stanford undergraduate population is on some form of financial aid, a five-percent increase from the previous year. Of this number, 48 percent of undergraduates receive need-based aid directly from the University, up from 41 percent in recent years.

According to Karen Cooper, director of financial aid, the University has been able to keep a strong commitment to its financial aid program.

“We are actually giving out significantly more aid this year than last year, despite the reduction to the endowment funding available,” Cooper wrote in an e-mail to The Daily.

“We have stood by that commitment by using other institutional sources of funding such as The Stanford Fund (annual gift funds) more heavily than we would have if the endowment funds were available,” she added.

Aside from the scholarship endowment, the University relies on three other sources to provide aid to students: The Stanford Fund, University general funds and reserves, and expendable gift funds.

While the University’s financial aid budget has swelled 50 percent since the 2007-08 academic year — the amount of total aid given increased from $75.2 million to $112.5 million — scholarship endowment now only meets 63 percent of Stanford’s current financial aid budget, a decrease from 90 percent two years ago.

After tapping into outside grants available to students from state, federal and private agencies, the shortfall between scholarship endowment funding and student need is projected to be more than $40 million for the 2009-10 academic year, according to the Office of Development. This year, the University expects to allocate 75 percent of The Stanford Fund — $15 million — toward financial aid. It will also dip into its general funds and reserves — an increase from $3 million last year to $24.7 million this year — to meet the remainder of student need.

Cooper expects the amount of students applying for aid, and the number who will receive need-based aid directly from the University, to increase in the current economic environment.

“Currently, 51 percent of the freshman class is receiving need-based aid from the University,” she added. “This percentage has been growing steadily for several years.”

While families are still feeling the shocks of the economic downturn, financial aid packages will not likely reflect students’ current financial situation until the next academic year, as aid is determined by W-2 forms that report parental income from more than one year ago.

While some students have seen no changes in their financial aid packages, they remain appreciative of the University’s efforts to accommodate families’ increasing financial pressures.

“I receive a tiny bit of aid from the University, and although the University has not expanded my aid options this year, I understand that the University is going through the same economic crisis that my family is experiencing,” said Brady Hamed ’12. “I think every family would appreciate some sort of help, though.”

“Obviously, [the financial aid] was a significant part of my decision to come here,” added Alex Churchill ’12. “The cost of a place like Stanford is high for middle-class families, but I think they’ve made significant strides in trying to make it easier for people to come here.”

Hamed added that he felt the University should use its resources to maintain a strong focus on its aid efforts in upcoming years.

“Despite the endowment drop, we still have the third-largest endowment in the nation, so it’s not like there’s an absence of money,” Hamed added. “I think the University should still have room to give aid to students that need it, and I think, especially in this economic environment, the University should make financial aid to students one of its top priorities.”

According to data published by Common Data Set Initiative for the 2009-10 academic year, of Stanford’s 6,185 undergrads, 3,761 applied for aid, 3,291 were determined to have financial need, 3,268 received any financial aid and 3,207 were awarded aid in terms of scholarships and grants. The average financial aid package, according to this release, is $38,419.

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