More than 1.3 million students across the United States will have to dig deeper into their pockets this fall to pay for college expenses.

On Dec. 23, the Bush administration announced that a change would be made to the formula used to determine eligibility for Pell Grants.

The grant, which is awarded to students with financial need, is based on calculated Estimated Family Contribution.

Because updates were made to the tax tables used to determine EFC, about 89,000 applicants who are eligible under the old tax table will lose their Pell Grants, said Larry Zaglaniczny, director for congressional relations for the National Association of Financial Administrators.

The changes will also affect other types of grants, such as the Monetary Award Program Grant, because the same EFC is used to determine student eligibility, said Inali Saghu, a financial aid counselor at NIU.

“The people [the change] truly affects are the students that were receiving the minimum amount of aid,” Sanghu said. “And with the new estimated family contribution, it may be that they will not get the pell grant,”

This presents a problem for students who have relied on the grant money to pay for college expenses.

Zaglaniczny said the students affected by the changes are likely to work more hours or reduce their academic course load to make up for the loss of funding.

Debt is a major concern for many students, but Saghu said there will not necessarily be an increase in students taking out more loans.

“There are government limits to what a student can borrow so unfortunately it may result in expenses coming from out of their own pockets,” she said.

President Bush proposed a budget for this year that will provide $12.9 billion in Pell Grant funding, according to Susan Aspey, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.

Aspey said $493.8 million will go to Illinois to help low income students pursue a higher education.

But as the cost of attending college rises, the increase in funding goes only so far.

Saghu said the maximum amount of money a student can receive under the Pell Grant is $4,050. This amount has not been increased to reflect rising college costs in three years.

Bush proposes an annual $100 increase in the Pell Grant ceiling over the next five years, Zaglaniczny said. “The increase is a good start but not adequate to meet the finances of students and families.”

Updating the formula was necessary, however.

“We’re required by law to do this, and we can’t pick and choose which parts of the law to follow,” Aspey said.