Student loans could be affected next year if President Bush's budget is passed in its current form, but officials said it's too early to determine the effect on Penn State students.

If Congress passes the recently released budget, the amount of money some federal grant programs receive could change, which may affect student loans. The budget suggests increasing the amount of money available per person for the Federal Pell Grant Program from $4,050 to $5,400 over the next five years, but will cut other federal grant programs to pay for those improvements and may affect student loan prices, according to an article on insidehighered.com.

Jerry Livingston, president of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, said any government aid is welcome but added that he doesn't predict a large change at Penn State -- tuition is so high that the effects of the proposed budget would be negligible, he said.

"It's helpful for families that can't afford to send students to college," Livingston said, "but to get a Pell Grant at $4,500 and try to go to an institution like Penn State without a scholarship or other income is difficult for a lot of lower income families. $4,500 is just a chunk of the total cost. That amount doesn't even cover tuition alone for a full-time, in-state student."

Among the federal aid programs that may be cut are Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG) and low-interest Federal Perkins Loans.

Last year, 14,771 students at all Penn State campuses received Pell Grants, said Director of Student Aid Programs Bob Snyder, who estimated the average amount received at $2,300.

Snyder wrote in an e-mail message that 4,398 students received $4.8 million last year through the FSEOG Program. That is an average of $1,090 per student. Snyder also wrote that 5,533 students received $11.3 million through Perkins Loans, an average of $2,040 per student.

Although the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a bill that will decrease interest rates for student loans from 6.8 to 3.4 percent over the next five years, the new budget makes proposals that might hurt student borrowers.

According to insidehighered.com, the budget proposes decreasing subsidies that the government pays to student loan companies in the Family Federal Education Loan Program, which may drive some companies out of the student loan business, decreasing competition among lenders and possibly raising the cost of student loans.

Bush's 2008 budget asks for $2.9 trillion, up from the $2.7 trillion 2007 budget, and also predicts a government surplus in 2012.

"What worries me is I really don't know where the money is going to come from," Livingston said. "I don't know how feasible it's going to be."

According to insidehighered.com, most FSEOG money goes to low-income students who also receive Pell Grants, but it can go to middle-income students who just miss the cutoff for Pell Grants. The program is costlier to operate than the Pell program and favors colleges that have been part of the program for a long time.

Still, Penn State spokesman Geoff Rushton said until more information is known, it's too early to make any predictions.

"We're anxious to hear more details," Rushton said. "It's a proposal, so it's too early to really say how this will affect Penn State or college students in general."