Caught in the Middle

With the price of a Dartmouth education exceeding the 21,000 dollar mark next year, some 43 percent of the student body will receive financial aid. The rising rates, along with the federal government's belt tightening, are putting the squeeze on financial-aid students. "The people being hit the hardest are families in the middleincome brackets," notes Director of Financial Aid Virginia Hazen. Changes in federal guidelines have pushed some middle-class families off the financialaid roster and increased the size of some parents' tuition checks. Parental contributions can no longer be offset by an increase in student aid. In previous years, students who increased the amount of a Guaranteed Student Loan or obtained additional work-study funding could decrease their parent's financial burden. In addition, new mandatory federal rules to determine financial need limits a financial aid officer's flexibility when considering extenuating circumstances.