Kari Ross, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts, will not graduate with her friends. She will never watch a basketball game at the Mullins Center. And she will never experience spring in New England.

That’s because she cannot afford to stay another semester at UMass, and must return home.

“I really want to stay here. I’ve made so many friends and I love living in the dorms, but I just can’t afford it,” said Ross.

Ross is among the many UMass students today who are supporting themselves through college without parental support. Financial aid is out of their grasp, because even though parents cannot support her, it does not justify the allocation of funds according to the University’s Financial Aid Office.

With rising tuition and loans, times will only become more difficult for students, and signs show that there are little-to-no solutions to this problem.

As a domestic exchange student from Indiana, Ross came to UMass to experience a new school, but her work in Massachusetts will come to an end this semester.

She lives with her mother and stepfather at home, where she also works a full-time job in addition to being a student. She said her parents are there for moral support, but cannot afford to support her financially.

What Ross has in common with many students, is that her financial aid isn’t enough to cover the cost of a UMass education, and there’s practically nothing she can do to change that.

Jean Berg, counselor at UMass Financial Aid Offices, helps students obtain the most financial aid they can possibly receive, but said that because of certain students’ situations, they just won’t receive the aid they feel they deserve.

 “For someone to say I don’t want to pay and I’m not paying, that’s not a valid reason to get independence,” said Berg.

“I don’t want to give a Pell grant to someone whose parents just don’t want to pay, because that takes away funds from those who really need it,” she added.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application, which helps the government determine the rightful amount of financial aid a students receives, restricts students from declaring independence from their parents until they are 24 years old, or have met the criteria for specific guidelines, which have recently increased from six to twelve options.           

Resource Economics professor M.J. Alhabeeb of UMass finds today’s financial aid to be lacking.

“Students’ financial aid is not enough at all. It is under-performing, in my view, especially at a time of economic downturn like now,” he said.

“I would say it needs a complete overhaul. As for the federal grants, the availability, qualification, and amounts sometimes are laughable,” he added.

Berg said that just because a parent does not want to, or does not have the money to financially support his or her child, does not mean their child is independent.

“Unfortunately, it’s just the way it is, because if this was allowed, every parent would just refuse to pay,” she said.

She added that there are reasons why everyone just can’t be independent.

“At 18, you’re an adult, but you can’t drink and still don’t have full benefits. At 21 you can drink, but you only have two years left of college, and that’s the mindset of the government,” she said.

“The government can’t fund every single 21-year-old who is a junior, and that’s why the independence age is set at 24,” she continued.

To this, Berg recommended that students who are in truly tight situations speak with the Financial Aid offices. Depending on the situation, students may be able to obtain professional letters and prove independence if they don’t meet the criteria on the FAFSA, but simply cannot provide parental information because of circumstances.

University Health Services and the Dean of Students Office will also meet with students and provide letters if there are no other options.

Saera Hanlon, a senior, 25, finally got the financial aid she needed because she passed the age requirement, but admits that she had a difficult time before that.

“I moved out when I was 17, and my dad wouldn’t even sign the FAFSA,” she said.

“I would get up at 7:00 a.m. in the morning, be back from work and school at 11:00 p.m. at night, and still have homework,” she added.

Hanlon added that she did have a significant other helping her out along the way, and part of the reason that she didn’t attend college for so long was because she was disappointed by the quality of her previous school. But she added that the time between school was just as difficult.

Alhabeeb says that a faltering economy will have dire effects on students supporting themselves, and that these trends will continue to rise.

“The outcome is clear and multifaceted, such as a sharp drop in the percentage of students to have a college education, a higher pressure on those who manage to get into college to work hard in the labor market and to incur more debt, and addition social and psychological pressure on families and their relations to their kids,” he said

Berg added that certain assumptions make things more difficult for everyone involved.

“Unfortunately, I think that the U.S. Government has certain assumptions, and one of those is that everyone has a family, a unit, and it’s not UMass who is the one’s thinking that, as there are men with broken families,” she said.

“I think it’s rubbing some people’s faces in the fact that they don’t have that support or care,” she added.

If anything, the students accept what has happened, and are ready for the future.

Hanlon added, “I think that it means a lot to be my own person. I’m grateful for the way my life turned out.”

Ross finished, “I’m a positive person, and I know I have to go back home. I’d rather not go back to my life of solitude, but I’ll make the best of it, and I’m happy with what I’ve gotten so far.”

Tim Jones can be reached at [email protected].