Mississippi financial aid officials say almost 27,000 college students could receive less state financial aid for the spring semester in 2027, and a student loan repayment program for teachers will not make awards this fiscal year, because of a budget shortfall.  The Mississippi Office of Stude nt Financial Aid needs $7.3 million more to account for growing demand for its college aid programs. The funding gap could force the financial aid office to cut programs that help low-income students, as well as hundreds of foster youths and future teachers pay, for college.  In 2025, Mississippi financial aid officials expanded eligibility for state aid programs, reducing the number of credit hours required for students to be considered full time from 15 to 12. As a result, 4,520 more students qualified for state-funded grants. State lawmakers also raised the income eligibility for the Higher Education Legislative Plan, or HELP, the state’s only need-based grant that covers up to four years of college, from $39,500 to $42,500. Demand for state aid has risen faster than anticipated, said Jennifer Rogers, executive director of the state aid office. In 2025, the state aid office doled out awards totaling more than $51 million to 22,377 students. More students are also applying for financial aid because of the federal government’s simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, Rogers said. Jennifer Rogers, executive director of the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today In the 2025-26 school year, 3,620 more students received the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant and 900 more students received the HELP grant than received through previous aid programs the prior year. Without additional funding, the state’s Fostering Access Inspiring True Hope (FAITH) scholarship, which helps current and former foster youths pay for college, may have to move to a first-come, first-serve system, she said. The 224 current recipients would receive priority, but nearly 100 more eligible students could lose out on the scholarship, Rogers said.  Some of the most vulnerable students who may not receive funding, Rogers said. Rogers said recipients of Mississippi’s largest undergraduate programs — HELP, MTAG and the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant — could see award amounts reduced during the spring 2027 semester. The Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program will not offer money to teachers this year for the first time since it was created in 2021. The program awards up to $6,000 to licensed teachers contracted in critical shortage areas, and up to $3,500 for those outside those areas, to repay student loans. The number teachers receiving the awards fell from 361 in 2024-25 to 197 in 2025-26 because of insufficient funding.  Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, said he expects lawmakers will ultimately meet the state’s financial aid obligations during the 2027 session. Earlier this year, lawmakers voted during the session to allocate $5.1 million to cover the financial aid office’s budget deficit for the 2026 fiscal year.  Sen. David Blount, a Democrat from Jackson and vice chairman of the Education Committee, said the shortfall may reveal broader issues with how Mississippi structures financial aid. The HELP grant, for example, could use a sliding scale income model that provides partial assistance to more students rather than relying on strict income eligibility cutoffs.  The federal Pell Grant program, which helps low-income college students, is also facing a funding shortfall. That, combined with the shortfall for Mississippi’s student aid programs, is a “double whammy” for some students, said Sandy Baum, who researches state financial aid programs for the Urban Institute. Students could be at greater risk of dropping out of college if they can’t afford the costs. “Being short thousands of dollars makes a huge difference,” Baum said. And helping people afford college, she said, has broader economic benefits. “If people go to college, get a degree or graduate, get a job and pay taxes, they will be more productive for the state’s economy,” Baum said. “The stronger the state’s economy, the more efficient and healthy its society will be.” ...read more read less