Applying for financial aid in college may often seem like a complicated process, a flurry of paper involving forms, budgets and many steps that must be completed before moving on to the next one.One group of students that may cause extra concern for some universities when deciding who gets financial aid is students with divorced parents.

Mike Scott, the director of scholarships and student financial aid at TCU, said the university has had problems in the past when dealing with divorced families.

Rarely can you find a student walking across campus alone and not on his or her cell phone. Some would attribute such a practice to insecurity - do you think people will think you are a loser if you're walking by yourself? Is talking on the phone supposed to make you look like you have a throng of friends? Others say that walking across campus alone is boring and, naturally, talking on the phone passes the whole seven-minute walk time. Seven minutes. Seven minutes of quiet time to yourself should not induce boredom, it should help preserve your sanity.

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Riding a crest of European admiration, Oceansize's latest release finds the band in the early stages of establishing a potential stateside fan base.

Each year, Becky Ramirez's student loans grow. Even though her tuition payments steadily increase, Ramirez's financial aid has remained stagnant since she was accepted to TCU. She hasn't always been certain that she could stay."I've almost left a few times," she said.

Ramirez, a senior biology major, said TCU's cost, which has increased by almost $12,000 since 2000, and will go up by $1,700 for the 2006-2007 academic year, is what keeps some applicants from deciding to choose TCU.

Money is just one piece of the puzzle.

A diverse campus

TCU is limited in terms of how much money it may award students, Scott said.He said he must look at socioeconomic status and whether the student is from Texas or another state - not just if the student is a minority.

Scott said that cost is generally a top priority when choosing a school.

The office of scholarships and financial aid is trying to let prospective students know of their possibility to afford TCU before they apply, he said.