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Many parents are wondering just that as students gear up for the fall semester-and parents pull out their checkbooks.  In part, the answer rests with the tuition increases that have outpaced inflation and the median family income.  Our future labor market should be armed with graduates prepared for 21st century careers, yet financial realities stand in the way for many young Americans.  Its a grim picture:

• The total cost of going to a private four-year college rose to $34,132 on average for the 2008-09 academic year.
• In-state students at public four-year schools paid an average of $14,333 for the current school year, an increase of 5.7% from the previous year.  Out-of-state students at public four-year schools pay a total of $25,200, up 5.2% from last year.
• The average college graduate is burdened with more than $20,000 in student loans
• Putting away $100 a month for 18 years could yield between $35,000 and $40,000 that can go toward a child's education, and state-sponsored 529 college savings accounts accumulate interest tax free
• Some parents, wanting their children to graduate loan-free, have taken to mortgaging their homes, thus jeopardizing their own retirement

Compounding the problem for students:  The increases aren't limited to tuition.  Books have become such an exorbitant expense, ofen reaching up to $1,000 per semester, that some students share books or do without them.

Students are carrying this financial burden well after graduation. Even worse, perhaps, is that they're being forced to make immediate choices about their future based on their levels of debt.  A public service career, for example, may take a back seat to a higher-paying job because of the need to make payments on outstanding student loans. 

With costs rising, students are trading down dreams of an Ivy League education and for one at a state university and from a state university to one at a community college.  While all education will bear fruit, we are inadvertantly creating a bifurcated system in which the best education will go to those who can pay for it. 

Need-based scholarship aid-which might otherwise mitigate the impact of this trend has grown more slowly than "merit-based" aid, and merit-based aid is too often available only to those students who have taken Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes that aren't always offered in lower income areas. 

We at FESF are doing all we can to try to alleviate some of the issues mentioned above.  Our scholarships are need based first, as well as merit-based.   

• We want to help those who may not find assistance in other places. 
• We want to assist those Christians that will continue to make a positive impact on our communities and in our churches. 
• We want the next generation of Christians to be well educated and able to spread the light of His word wherever they can, 
• We want students to attend the college of their dreams and not settle for something less due to financial constraints. 
• We want students to graduate from college and find the career that their heart longs for, not just the one that will make their $400 monthly student loan payment. 

In this section you will find some additional information about financial aid and financing a college education.  We hope that FESF can help you!

We can do all of this, and more with your help!!  Please see the "How You Can Help" tab.