Student debt load will get heavier

The News & Observer
September 24, 2011
BY LANA DOUGLAS - STAFF WRITER

CHAPEL HILL -- Jacob Pinto had a full ride to UNC-Chapel Hill, until he lost his scholarships and grants this year because his parents made more money and the state cut funding to UNC-CH....

State grant funding was cut 20 percent this year, Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of scholarships and student aid, told the UNC-CH board of trustees this week. In the future, more students will need to borrow money, and they will need to borrow more than they have in previous years, she said. UNC-CH prevented the cuts from affecting most students by using about $4 million from a reserve fund to offset them, according to Ort.  However, with the elimination of federal summer Pell grants in 2012 and possible changes in how the state distributes grant funding next year, UNC-CH could lose a total of $8.4 million in grants next year.  Click here to read more.