The Associated Press reports that the state’s four-year universities plan to follow suit in advance of a budget deal that Gov. Chris Christie plans to pass that would continue to downsize university budgets statewide.

The governor’s budget proposes only $714 million in operating costs for New Jersey colleges – a stunning shortfall in millions of dollars from the amount it offered last year.

Current rates at these universities for in-state students start at approximately $9,000, as with New Jersey City University, and spike at just over $13,500 for other students at the College of New Jersey. Excluding room, board, and other costs, Rutgers University students pay $12,559 in tuition and other costs each year.

This makes any potential spike in tuition frustrating to students who continue to struggle in the wake of the national recession.

According to the AP, several university presidents, including those from Rutgers University and Saint Mont Clair, attended hearings before the state legislature to plead their case for more funds.

Several state senators grabbed the opportunity to grill the officials about policies at their institutions, including enrollment rates for undocumented and illegal immigrants.

Reuters reports that analysts see the move by university officials as a “buck” of the system and conservative trends at-large that would defund important programs and policies for four-year colleges.

At the federal level, the Obama administration’s January budget received flack from the left and the right for the sharp reductions it recommended for the all-important Pell grant – a staple of the financial aid packages upon which so many students depend.

This is what makes the decision by officials at four-year universities in New Jersey so significant. Instead of raising rates to compensate for the shortfall so many institutions feel, Rutgers and other colleges continue to hold back, keeping students in school and preventing their departure from their curricula on the basis of financial need alone.

What do you think about these universities keeping their tuition rates? Feel free to leave your comments below.

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This yields a greater effect, in turn, on student debt, which continues to skyrocket. The latest figure on student debt is somewhere around $896 billion, reports the Project on Student Debt – making this the first time that student debt eclipses credit card debt.

As tuition rises at a rapid rate and student loans become larger and larger, it becomes apparent that anyone with collegial aspirations needs to fill out the Free Application for Financial Student Aid, better known as FAFSA, which becomes essential for anyone wanting to pay for tuition, books, and other expenses.

Rebecca Jarvis, the business news and economics correspondent for CBS’ “Early Show,” said that those who fill out the application earlier than others receive more federal funds than those who wait until the deadline.

The reason why: FAFSA reserves funds for students on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those who apply earlier can receive as much as $7,000 more in financial aid for submitting their FAFSA forms.

Chris Wragge, who co-anchors the show, stresses the additional need for a student to make her or himself as possible. If the student is accepted into a first school of choice, and is without means to pay for it in its entirety, it is important for said student to raise the issue with the school’s financial aid department. Jarvis adds that the worst the school can say is no.

Another strategy is to compare the financial aid packages from each school. If a student is accepted into one with a better financial aid offer than others schools offer, the student should not be afraid to mention the strength of her or his financial aid package from other schools and ask for something similar.

Other factors that a student should include in her or his application include whether there has been an illness in the family, a change of job circumstances, or someone in said student’s family lost a job. People make themselves more appealing to colleges on these grounds, particularly in the aftermath of the recent recession.

For more information on paying for college, visit our College Scholarships page.

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1. Fill Out The Financial Aid Application Correctly
2. Budget Battles Slash Financial Aid
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