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NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release: STUDENTS SUFFERING FINANCIAL LOSS FROM MILITARY SERVICE, DEATH, AND DIVORCE CALL FOR FINANCIAL AID RELIEF GROUPS URGE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM REFORM Students who have family members serving in the Iraq war or whose parents recently divorced or died joined with financial aid administrators and veterans groups today to urge the New York State Legislature to pass a bill that would reform the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). "I'm carrying more debt now because my family couldn't afford to contribute as much to my education when my dad got called up to active duty in Iraq," said Sally Bien, a SUNY Cortland sophomore and daughter of Army National Guardsman from Pine Bush, New York. "Our family income dropped by 40 percent and mid-year TAP adjustments could have made a big difference for my family and other military families in this state." "Ever since my mother lost her job last year, I have been having trouble making ends meet," said Heather McGill, a SUNY Albany senior from Lockport, New York. "I have been waiting tables for twice as many hours as I used to last year. By the time my TAP award would truly reflect my financial situation I will have graduated." "When my mother, a teacher and the only breadwinner in our family, was killed by a drunk driver, the financial aid office told me that my TAP award of $500 could not be changed," said Adina Silverbush, a student at Stony Brook University from Brooklyn, New York. "To be able to stay in school, I had to use money from her teacher's retirement fund." The changes to TAP would allow students to adjust their state financial aid awards when their family income changes in the middle of the academic year. Passage of this bill would bring the state to parity with the federal government, which already allows students to adjust their federal aid (such as Pell Grants) in the middle of the year if the family income changes. Last year, some 8,000 college students in New York State applied for adjustments to their federal awards. "Family tragedies don't happen according to any schedule and TAP needs to be adapted to respond better to these situations," said Miriam Kramer, NYPIRG's government policy analyst. "Mid-year TAP adjustments are reasonable and should get done in New York State." The New York State Council of Veterans Organizations and the New York State Financial Aid Administrator's Association support this legislation. Attachment: Fact Sheet on Mid-Year TAP Adjustments
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