Everyone spends a lot of their life waiting, but most of the time we spend in limbo is pretty trivial. Sure, no one enjoys the hassle of being patient, but what we’re waiting for rarely determines our future. I face the exception now. I am waiting for a decision that may decide everything in my near future. On the brink of financial disaster, I’m enduring a wait that makes me unbearably anxious and often sick to my stomach. My future, my senior year at Georgetown, is on the line.
A sizeable part of my financial aid comes from Pell Grants, which are federal awards for low-income students that do not have to be repaid. Without them, my family would not be able to afford Georgetown’s steep tuition. But Pell Grants and other aid programs, like Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, are on the chopping block in the House Republicans’ proposed set of budget cuts. The cuts they are seeking would slash the maximum Pell Grant award, which I currently receive, by $845 per year. To some that might not seem like a lot, but that difference determines my ability to attend Georgetown.
My parents’ divorce in 2003 and the ensuing 180-degree change in my financial situation is the root cause of my need for aid. A lot of students share my experience, especially in today’s economic atmosphere. I went from living in an affluent suburb of Dallas to living in a house owned by my grandfather in Louisville, thankful to even have a roof over my head. College was always an expectation in my house, but after I moved, the question was no longer which school I would attend, it was whether I would be able to attend college at all. Tuition and money suddenly took precedence over prestige. I applied to schools with a prayer for a favorable outcome—aid, and lots of it. Even when I got my acceptance letter to Georgetown, it wasn’t a sure option until my aid package came a few weeks later. Everything rested on a number that included federal aid.
Cut to the present—lawmakers have made my life a waiting game again, one with grave consequences. The proposed $5.6 billion cut would be catastrophic for more than nine million students and their families, not to mention the millions more whose college dreams would be dashed before they even had a chance to begin. Even though I receive aid from Georgetown, if these cuts are passed, Georgetown would likely struggle to make up the difference for me and other students who receive federal aid. It amazes me that members of Congress don’t consider education aid a necessary part of government spending, and baffles me that that they cannot find another program to cut from, such as tax cuts for the wealthy. It feels personal, as if I’m waiting for House Republicans to decide whether my future, and the futures of the nine million other Americans who receive Pell Grants, are worth anything.
The actions of Georgetown administrators, however, have made my wait slightly easier. For the first time in my Georgetown career, I actually impressed by its efforts. Led by Associate Vice President for Federal Relations Scott Fleming and the Office of Federal Relations, the University has not only been in contact with students who rely on federal aid, but also speaking out on our behalf on Capitol Hill. President John DeGioia has sent letters to Jacob Lew, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Three students, myself included, were asked to film a short video for representatives on Capitol Hill describing our reliance on federal aid to members of Congress. Georgetown students, encouraged by the University and student clubs, are making calls to their representatives expressing their support for the federal student aid programs. Knowing that the University and its students are fighting on my behalf and that I am taking an active role in my future makes it easier to bear having my future on hold, hoping that the wait will be over soon. I am unsure of what’s to come, but I am hoping that someone in Washington takes an interest in my future and that of millions of my peers.
