April 17, 2019 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 83 No. 25
PHOTO BY ARIANNA DAVIS | THE WICHITAN
Kathy Browning, director of financial aid, gives a presentation to students about different financial aid programs on Feb. 7.
STUDENTS AWARDED MORE THAN $50 MILLION in financial aid last year HUNTER TYLER REPORTER
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ollege isn’t cheap and costs aren’t going down. To help from going into debt, students depend on financial aid. This year, about 76 percent of the student population received some form of financial aid, $59.4 million in total. “There’s always been a saying that every
$59.4 Million total
year millions of dollars go unspent in financial aid, but most financial aid offices award out everything they possibly can.” “We don’t have left-over money because we have students that have a need,” Kathy Browning, director of financial aid, said. Out of this $59.4 million, $8.6 million came from scholarships, $17 million came from grants or work study
$8.6 Million scholarship
and $33.8 million came from student loans. Mark McClendon, director of institutional research, provided additional data regarding financial aid, comparing the percentages of students receiving Pell Grants by gender and race. Nearly two-thirds, 63.8 percent, of students that received a Pell Grant last year KATHY BROWNING were female, while 36.2 perDIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL AID cent were male. Additionally, 42.2 percent of these students were white, 27.1 percent were Hispanic, 21.3 percent were black and 3.1 percent were
“There’s always been a saying that every year millions of dollars go unspent in financial aid.”
$17
Million grants and work study
Asian. “Federal aid is the Pell Grants, student loans and the work study program. We do have some state aid, and we have institutional aid, scholarships would be institutional or state. What most students relate to federal aid is pell grants and student loans, and then state aid would be Texas grants and then institutional grants and scholarships,” Browning said.
see Award pg. 3
$33.8 Million from student loans