Caitlyn Fair, a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, received a federal Pell Grant as part of a financial aid package, but also took out personal and government-backed student loans to finance her education.
The Pell Grant also qualified her to receive funding from the state’s MASSGrant Plus program, which helped to cover her tuition, books, and other fees. Still, when she graduates in May, Fair estimates she will owe about $40,000, which should take her about 15 years to pay off.
But the college bill for Fair and other students enrolled in state colleges and universities has gotten a little cheaper. Governor Maura Healey on Wednesday announced $62 million in new state funding to expand the MASSGrant program.
“That funding makes the difference between having to stress about paying for an electric bill, books, campus fees, registration fees and not having that worry,” said Fair, a graduate of Newton North High School. “It will take away so much anxiety and stress from my life and the lives of other students in my situation.”
The MASSGrant Plus Expansion program will also cut out-of-pocket expenses for middle-income students by up to half, Healey said during a ceremony at Salem State University.
As many as 25,000 students who attend the state’s public community colleges, state universities, and the University of Massachusetts will benefit from the new program funding, she said.
“This expansion of MASSGrant Plus will open doors for more students to access higher education, which will strengthen our economy as a whole. We’re grateful to our Legislative partners for making this funding available and look forward to our continued collaboration to make Massachusetts more affordable,” Healey said in a statement.
The funding for the MASSGrant Plus Expansion will draw on the $84 million for financial aid expansion by Governor Healey and the legislature in the FY24 budget, Healey’s office said in a statement.
The additional aid should help ease the burden of college costs, one expert said.
“Even for in-state residents, the cost of attendance at the UMass institutions is still very high,” said Adam Minsky, a Boston-based attorney who focuses on helping student loan borrowers. “It can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars each year to go to those schools … there is not enough student aid to cover that.”
Fair said she has a twin brother who decided not to enroll in a four-year college because he did not want to go into debt. “A lot of kids have had to make that hard choice,” she said.
Dorah Pierre-Louis, a junior at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said that even though she received financial aid, she is still going to be in $30,000 of debt when she graduates.
Pierre-Louis said that she is studying computer science because she wants to be able to quickly pay off her student loans when she graduates.
“This is a very big step because the expense of education right now is affecting how many people can go to school,” Pierre-Louis said of the MASSGrant expansion “We’re missing a lot of brilliant minds in higher education just because people can’t afford to go.”
Healey announced the financial aid expansion alongside state education leaders, elected officials, Salem State University President John D. Keenan, faculty, students, and staff.
The new funding will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, whether they attend full- or part-time, and will include a $1,200 allowance for books and supplies.
Middle-income students — those whose families earn between $73,000 and $100,000 annually in adjusted gross income — will have their tuition costs and mandatory instructional fees reduced by up to half of their out-of-pocket expenses. They must be enrolled full time to qualify.
The program will be retroactive to the start of the fall 2023 semester for currently enrolled students.
Keenan, who is also chair of the State Universities Council of Presidents, called the new funding “a game changer for state university students.”
As many as 40 percent of the students at Salem State could potentially benefit, he said. “This unprecedented investment will allow more of the Commonwealth’s students to pursue their dreams of a college education. It’s a win for them and a win for the future Massachusetts’ workforce,” he said.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez. Maggie Scales can be reached at maggie.scales@globe.com. Follow her @scales_maggie.