Hard Economic Times Pinch College Students

by ABC-7 Reporter/Anchor Ashlie Hardway

EL PASO — Experts say our local economy has fared pretty well considering the situation on Wall Street, but one factor that has hit some in the Borderland is paying for college tuition.

College tuition is expensive no matter where you go, and it’s getting costlier every year. For one UTEP student, that could mean the difference between graduating on time — or at all.

Verediana Perez is about a year away from graduation…she hopes. When looking at the growing amount of tuition dues, though, she’s not sure if that big day will come as soon as she had hoped.

“I was thinking ‘How am I gonna do it now, how are my parents gonna do it?’ ” Perez said.

Her father picked up extra shifts as a truck driver. When she’s not taking classes at UTEP, Perez is working to pay for other expenses, like gas and books.

Perez said she was receiving federal grants, but over the years those started drying up.

“If you notice, it diminishes from nine thousand toeightthousandto three thousand. Like, it goes down, all the way down, each year,” she said.

Her first two years were paid for in full by the grants. Starting last year, Perez was responsible for footing some bills.

She tried to accept a $4,500 federal Stafford loan she was previously approved for, but she claims they wouldn’t give her the money.

Perez added that other UTEP students told her they’ve experienced the same thing.

In that case, UTEP officials say to talk to them.

“There’s an appeals process, so we can certainly take a look at her situation, their situation, to make sure we can help them out. Bottom line, we want to help them,” UTEP Financial Aid Director Raul Lerma said.

For now, Perez says she’ll keep an eye on her finances, but she’s not planning on applying for other loans.

Her attention now, she says, is on graduating next year.

“I do want to study, I do want an education, but it was hard at the moment to not have the financial support for it,” she said.

An associate with the Texas Bankers Association says that so far, Texas-based banks are fine when it comes to lending money in general. However, a UTEP spokeswoman said private loans are not as common for UTEP students.