Finding a way to pay

"By the way, I'm still not enrolled in class," Natasha Leuchanka said to her professor on Oct. 24, "but here's my final."

Leuchanka finished a three-credit class called Field Description of Soils, and, at that point, in the eyes of the university, her effort did not count.

"It's almost like I'm a ghost," she said.

Leuchanka – an immigrant from Belarus who moved to the United States shortly before her 11th birthday– was unenrolled shortly after classes began because she was unable to secure the necessary loans to cover her out-of-state tuition.

She is still attending class and doing all the work so that, hopefully, when she secures the funds to pay this semester, she won't have an insurmountable pile of work.

Within the past three academic years, students have increasingly indicated withdrawal for financial reason: 27 financial withdrawals during the 06-07 academic year; 47 for the 07-08 year; and 72 for the 08-09 years.

These numbers account for all bachelor students that were enrolled during the academic year stated, but were not enrolled or did not complete the following semester.

The university catalogs the reasons for student withdrawal; however, the numbers don't always indicate the real reasons for a withdrawal, said University Registrar Kathryn Forbes.

"We only get very generic information about the reason a student is leaving," Forbes said. Students often indicate "transfer," but don't enroll at another university; or, students are asked to leave and don't bother to fill out any paperwork, Forbes said.

"As I'm sure you are aware, just numbers don't mean much," Forbes said.

For Leuchanka, though, it all came down to numbers, just not statistics.

In past semesters, Leuchanka's mother cosigned for her student loans. However, this semester, her mother's credit score wouldn't support another round of student loans, due to losing her job and relocating to Brooklyn from the Albany, New York.

Also in past semesters, Leuchanka was a community assistant in the Woodsides apartments, which covered her room and board, but she still needed to come up with the roughly $26,000 for out-of-state tuition.

When Leuchanka's loans fell through she contacted the Financial Aid office to try to figure out a different way to pay for school.

She outlined her situation to the man she spoke with over the phone.

She is not a citizen of the United States, but she is a permanent resident. She is not an international student that is enrolled in a foreign university and just visiting for a semester. She has previously paid for her education with both personal loans and federal financial aid, but her mother was rejected as a cosigner.

The financial aid officer's answer was simple – Leuchanka does not go to school this semester.

Suzy Allen, director of Financial Aid, said that one of their first suggestions is to find a different cosigner, usually an aunt or uncle with a different line of credit.

Leuchanka's advisor quickly offered his assistance.

"I volunteered almost immediately," he said, of volunteering to cosign for Leuchanka's loan, stating that she is just asking for his credit and not a direct handout.

Leuchanka's advisor was concerned about being named as her benefactor, fearing that other students would seek him or other faculty members for handouts.

"I like to think of the academic community as supportive," he said. "But it's hard to see it come down to this – either you're a student or you're not."

He also quickly points out that Leuchanka is a particularly driven and levelheaded student. He and Leuchanka's path first crossed in the introductory-level International Affairs class.

"She stood out because she asked good questions, smart questions," he said.

In a class of 45 students there can be a lot of dead air, he said, and a student that asks intelligent questions and thoughtfulness stands out.

Even with her advisor's signature, Leuchanka's financial aid problem would only be solved for this semester. Since each semester offers a clean financial slate, therefore her advisor worried what effect cosigning for Leuchanka will have.

"Is this helping or hurting her," he asked. "Will this situation present itself next semester?"
 

The Financial Aid office – whose official goal is make sure students can afford an education at UNH – is limited by a couple of factors, Allen said.
 

The largest factor that limits Financial Aid's ability to help students, both incoming and already enrolled, sometimes asks for more money than credit institutions are willing to lend.

"In so many ways our hands are tied," Allen said. We can't tell banks to lend money to students. It's their money, not ours."

With the tightening credit market, students like Leuchanka are becoming more common.
 

"We don't see them all," Allen said. "Sometimes they withdraw or find other ways to pay for school."

Allen stresses that students should first visit Financial Aid, then seek other sources of funding, such as private lenders that might have higher interest rates.

On Nov. 5, Leuchanka got some good news.

Her advisor was able to provide all the necessary financial data that would approve him as Leuchanka's cosigner.

On Nov. 12 Leuchanka's petition to be re-enrolled into the College of Life Sciences and Agricultulture was accepted.

Throughout this ordeal, Leuchanka was not willing to accept Business Services' original answer – the student does not go to school this semester.
 

"I feel like it's not an option to say this is not the school for me," Leuchanka said. "I could have chosen a school in my state, but UNH has so many opportunities for me."