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Podcasts Take Two
More people applying for federal financial aid in California
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Feb 28, 2014
Listen • 6:54
More people applying for federal financial aid in California
With the cost of college tuition on the rise, financial aid has become a necessity for many students and their families.
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 23: Students walk across the campus of UCLA on April 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. According to reports, half of recent college graduates with bachelor's degrees are finding themselves underemployed or jobless. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Students walk across the campus of UCLA on April 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. According to reports, half of recent college graduates with bachelor's degrees are finding themselves underemployed or jobless. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
)

With the cost of college tuition on the rise, financial aid has become a necessity for many students and their families.

With the cost of college tuition on the rise, financial aid has become a necessity for many students and their families.

In California, the number of people applying for federal financial aid has risen almost 74 percent over the last six years.

But the financial aid process can be a confusing one, made even more difficult to navigate because colleges rarely provide specific information about how exactly they dole out their financial aid dollars.

What kind of information are students looking for that they aren't getting? How do schools use financial aid as a strategy? What kind of students are universities trying to attract with their financial aid strategy?

ProPublica reporter Marian Wang joins us on the show.