In his last email to the university community, J-Sex said that the recession had affected NYU and that tuition was being increased again. He encouraged students who were in need of financial help to contact the Financial Aid Office, while at the same time warning us that the school’s aid resources were limited. It was an email that said basically nothing, but had J-Sex talked about our student aid budgets, maybe the letter would have had something of value.

No, I’m not talking about the budget of TBNYU’s dreams, but rather, the personal budget for each student who receives aid. Don’t know what I’m talking about? You’re probably not the only one.

Every student who receives financial aid has his or her own personal aid budget. These budgets were created when we entered as freshmen. I have one and, unless you’re a trust fund baby, you probably have one too. This budget determines how much a student receives in financial aid every year. Sounds pretty standard. But what I found baffling was that the student aid budget isn’t the amount you’ll be receiving from NYU, but rather, the amount of aid you can receive from ALL sources: NYU, the federal government, and private lenders. You cannot receive more aid than your budget allows.

And what if your budget is set at an amount that’s less than the total cost of attendance? It’s like wanting a 10-speed bike, but only having money for a tricycle.

If you need more money, there’s the budget appeal form: a quasi-remedy to your problems that the financial aid office doesn’t advertise. You can request an increase in your budget for things like buying a new computer (up to $2k can be set aside), or to cover the total costs of up to two trips home during the academic year. But you don’t really need to buy anything to get an increase. If you have problems paying for bills and shit, you can successfully appeal for a couple grand (if you’re lucky). All you have to do is write a letter explaining why you would like to appeal your budget, and include proof of your recent expenses (like, if you bought a computer, attach the receipt). You’re going to have to be on top of the ball though and call the financial aid office to check up on your appeal. When I talked to a financial aid counselor about the budget, she informed me that they wouldn’t contact a student if his or her budget were increased.

Don’t see this as the end to all your financial woes, however. A successful budget appeal does not mean that NYU will be giving you more money. It means that, if you need it, you’ll have the ability to go borrow some. (Read: more debt)

It’s important that everyone understands his or her budget. Call the financial aid office and ask them about it. NYU is certainly willing to release the numbers of this budget and it helps to know yours. If anything, it should give some of you one more reason to bitch about NYU.