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guidance Jason Gochenour said, “but this is more of an issue this year with the economy, and it’s a larger part of the deciding factor.”

Seniors with financial offers in hand have been regulars in Gochenour’s office. So have their parents who have questions about everything from filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to what student loans have" what interest rates.

Gochenour is not expert on financial aid, but says that parents and students need to be informed so that they make the right decision for themselves and their families.

“If you have questions, be smart enough to ask the financial aid counselors at your colleges,” he said. “I don’t know everyone’s financial situation, but 111 encourage them to ask questions, and 111 ask them questions like, T)o you want to be saddled with $100,000 in debt, especially if this is not your final degree and you are thinking about grad school?1 You might not want that $100,000 debt.”

Students and parents, Gochenour added, should use the financial aid calculators that are available online to see what the payment options will be depending on the amount of money borrowed and at what interest rate.

Josh Bywaters did. An aerospace engineering major, Bywaters researched interest rates, loans and scholarship possibilities offered at West Virginia University, which runs about $27,000 year for an out-of-state student.

The financial aid package that WVU offered Bywaters includes a $3,000 scholarship and student loans whose interest rate rates, depending on that type of loan. For example, the unsubsidized undergraduate Stafford Loan has a fixed interest rate of 6.8 percent. These continue to accrue interest during the years the student is in college. The subsidized Stafford Loan has an interest rate of 5.6 percent next year, but drops to 4.5 percent during the 2010-11 year and 3.4 percent during the 2011-12 year before return to the current 5.6 percent rate in the 201213 year. The amount of what a student can borrow also changes each year.

The Parent PLUS loan’s interest rate is set at 8.5 percent.

Bywaters crunched the numbers and applied for additional scholarships and grants before deciding that he and his parents could make it work for a WVU education.

“You have to be realistic with your decision,” he said. “If you’re going to a liberal arts school and spending $40,000 a year, it may not be easy to make that $40,000 back in just a couple of years after college.”

Majoring in engineering has an up side, Bywaters pointed out.

There is a demand for engineers. If that demand continues, and he does well in school, he should land a good paying job after he graduates from WVU.

“Tm trying to make it so I don’t have a lot of debt,” he said. “After I graduate, I want to consolidate the student loans and try to pay them back in 10 years or less if I can.”

Whittier College, which counts the late President Richard Nixon among its alumni, offered Schwar a $20,000 per year merit scholarship, small classes and, of course, beautiful, warm weather. Her costs would have dropped to about $12,000 each year.

Still, Schwar, who plans to major in English and theater arts, felt the price tag remained too high.

“Just the cost of flying back and forth from California to here is so expensive,” she added. “I would have never been able to come home.”

Schwar accepted the admission offer from VCU and will pay about $4,000 a year, thanks to a generous financial offer. She can even take her car.

Emily Spivey turned down Shenandoah and Longwood universities, Lynchburg College and the University of Alabama and mailed in her deposit to Liberty University after it offered a financial package