On Feb. 17, President Barack Obama signed the economic stimulus bill that will allot $787 billion to public works projects, social programs and tax cuts. It includes $150 billion to education, doubling the Department of Education’s budget for the year. The Gunn administration has said that Gunn might not see significant gains, but the availability of student loans will increase.

Despite the package, the California budget made $4 billion cuts to education and will leave Gunn with a loss of funding. “California has lowered its educational budget significantly,” Likins said. “It is very likely that we will have to make some cuts.”

This will affect seniors applying to colleges. It aims to salvage student lending corporations, such as Sally Mae, which began to fail in September and sued for a buyout when JP Morgan and other banks rejected buying it for $25 billion. Sally Mae is only one of the companies suffering during the “credit crunch” that has led many seniors to reevaluate college plans.

“I didn’t apply out of state, because my state residency significantly lowers the price of tuition within the Cal State and UC system,” senior Sabrina Riddle said. “I’ve been looking for loans, scholarships and grants, because despite staying in the state, the money in my family to afford full tuition without assistance just isn’t there.” Senior Iva Petrov agreed. “No one wants to drag down their parents with tuition payments,” Petrov said. “After all, graduate school should be where your debt collects.”