There is far more college student financial help than is being used.

With all the concern about the rising costs of higher education and the drain that attending college can cause for individual or family budgets, it is well to be reminded that far more help is available than is being used.

Student grants, scholarships and loans are being seriously underutilized by those who are eligible, many of whom are the first to complain about rising tuition and fees.

The Star-Gazette of Elmira, N.Y., recently offered some cogent comments on the subject, remarks well worth passing on to those in and about a college community such as Lawrence. Noted the Star-Gazette:

“If only parents and students would take the time, they would find thousands of dollars in aid available through the federal government. Yet a study by the American Council on Education indicates that moms, dads and their college-bound children are shrugging off the federal aid forms under two main misconceptions: middle-income families believe they make too much money to qualify for aid; and low-income families believe students need high SAT scores to qualify.

“Those were some of the findings of the study that reached a number of startling conclusions, including one that said an estimated 850,000 low-income students were eligible for federal Pell grants — free money– but failed to apply.

“The point is, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Families that are too lazy to fill out the forms or give up under the assumption they don’t qualify could be throwing away a golden opportunity to afford a college education. If just doesn’t make sense.”

Put another way, you don’t try, you fail; you don’t ask, you never find out. Why don’t more people who complain about the costs of college work harder than they do to cut such expenses with so much available “free money”?