BY MEGHAN V. MALLOY

Staff Writer

Alyssa Travis had high hopes after being accepted to her dream college, the University of New England, to study marine biology.

Those hopes were put on hold. The 18-year-old Erskine Academy senior decided she would enroll at the University of Maine instead, pursuing a degree in wildlife biology.

"It's something I have to do," Travis, of Palermo, said. "I really, really wanted to go to UNE, but it didn't work out financially."

Travis' situation is familiar among Maine high school seniors anxious to graduate to the next chapter of their lives.

The next chapter for many, however, is different than planned. The recession is forcing families to cut back, including on college.

"Kids have had to make choices, as they always do, but this year, they see that going to one school costs 'x' amount per year, times four years, and are giving it up in favor of being closer to home," said Dan Connolly, a guidance counselor at Gardiner Area High School.

"We've seen a big increase in awareness surrounding financial aid," he said. "It's obviously a family decision, and I'm seeing families become more aware of the reality of this."

Travis said she was awarded $20,000 in scholarships, but tuition at the University of New England is $40,500 a year. The difference in student loans would have been too burdensome, she said.

"My parents hinted multiple times we didn't have the money and the University of New England wasn't really an option," she said.

Her father was laid off from his job as a corrections officer in Waldo County. Her mother works as a substitute teacher.

"I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I can't complain," Travis said. "I'm happy that I'm going to college at all."

Heather Pilling, 18, a Gardiner Area High School senior, is dispirited about college because of the financial considerations. She and her single mother determined that her first choice, the University of New Hampshire, was too expensive. She needed $12,000 more a year than the total of her grants, scholarships and loans. "I'm on my own for college tuition," she said.

So Pilling said she will spend less to attend college in UMaine in the fall, to pursue a double major in English and theater.

Maine colleges and universities say they are doing what they can to financially help students such as Travis and Pilling get into college and graduate.

"This year there was greater need, and it crossed all socioeconomic levels with our students," said Brandon Lagana, director of admissions at the University of Maine at Farmington.

UMF infused an extra $250,000 into their financial aid programs this year for students in need of assistance, and launched a public relations campaign in Massachusetts to entice out-of-state students. Lagana said the school also relied on help from alumni for scholarships.

"This was a commitment to cultivating students," Lagana said. "We wanted to emphasize that college education is still a choice for people in this economy, and that Farmington is still a choice."

And while graduating seniors may be changing college plans, schools are finding students are still making higher education part of the plan.

"We have 2,285 students enrolled for the fall right now, and that will double before school starts," said Jon Henry, director of enrollment services at the University of Maine at Augusta. "Last year at this time, the number was 2,352. Down by a bit, but we're holding steady."

Henry said while there are slightly fewer students, they are taking more credit hours of classes.

"People are seeing us more as a full-time option," Henry said. "We look at the number of credits being taken, not the actual head count. Students are continuing to seek access education and getting the skills needed to transform our economy."

The bottom line is still to get a college education, say many seniors, including Carl Witham, an 18-year-old aspiring engineer at Gardiner Area High School.

Witham ultimately chose to save money by attending school at Orono, despite being accepted to Wentworth Institute of Technology in Massachusetts, his preferred school.

He received almost $16,500 in scholarships to pay for the $20,000 per year tuition in Maine.

"I'm the first person in my family, including my grandparents, to ever attend college," Witham said. "I'm looking to forward to the college experience, no matter what."

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811, ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com