Budget Reductions – Students Struggle with Financial Aid
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Financial aid is something many college students look towards for support paying for college. However, as Department of Education cuts have slowed down financial aid, Rutgers has reported that they plan to increase tuition costs for their annual budget.
According to USA Today, there have been several colleges that have reported financial aid delays due to the cuts in the Department of Education; the layoffs taking place has caused the Department to operate at a much slower pace. At least 40% of colleges have said that financial aid servicing has caused them to have issues, there have also been outages of key systems. According to college officials, contacting the Federal Student Aid office was also delayed which has caused concerns regarding availability. Alongside this, the One Big Beautiful Bill had eliminated Grad Plus Loans and implemented a cap on loans for professional degrees (Law, Medicine, Clinical Psychology).
Rutgers also increased tuition for the 2025-2026 year, for in-state students it has increased by 5%, while there was a 6% increase for out-of-state students. The reason for this increase is due to Rutgers’ $5.9 billion budget, which is supported by this tuition increase. Other fees like housing have also gone up with this change.
Some students, who have been having problems with financial aid, have had to take gap semesters as a result. “When I found out I wouldn’t be able to afford my spring semester I went to the financial aid office right away…Making sure that I am able to have the money to come back was my top priority…” says Xia Durham, a Junior Accounting student at Rutgers–Camden.
Due to issues with financial aid, she couldn’t afford to come back for the Spring 2026 semester, this resulted in her graduation date being delayed. “There was nothing that I could have done…I needed to wait till the Fall to continue my classes, but I’m not letting it stress me out too much, I try to see it as a required break from my coursework.”
There are programs at Rutgers-Camden to help low-income students who need support including the EOF program. They provide support like additional financial aid, counseling, and tutoring for disadvantaged students.
“The Educational Opportunity Fund allows for students to experience college with the financial support they need, cuts to funding prevents us from giving that chance for them.” says Matthew West, EOF’s program manager. This kind of support can help students navigate a system that they may not be used to. There are also grants and scholarships that students can apply for support as well. For now, if you are a student, it’s best to understand what your current financial position is, and how these changes will affect you in the future.
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