Financial aid office offers
information about funding
By Kurt Esposito
Summer
Editor
For help with the high cost of college, students
can go to the Financial Aid Office. The office can assist them in applying
for financial aid and looking for a job.
Joyce Hall, director of the Financial Aid Office,
said, the office, which is located on the third floor of Schleman Hall,
helps students when they have questions relating to financial aid.
To apply for federal, state and Purdue financial
assistance students should complete and return the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid, (FAFSA) which they receive in the mail.
Hall said the office encourages students to use
the Web site www.fafsa.ed.gov, when applying for aid. "It's quicker
and it tends to be more accurate, which speeds up the whole process,"
she said.
Students should file their FAFSA forms by March
1 every year in which they will begin classes at Purdue.
After a student applies for financial aid they
will receive an awards package, which will tell them what type of and
how much aid they are entitled to receive.
With their awards package, students will also receive
a loan request form, which, Hall said all students should fill out
Hall said it is important for all students to apply
to financial aid and fill out the loan request form even if they do
not need it, because some unforeseen event may come up, such as a parent
losing a job, that could affect the student's financial status.
"We don't want them to wait for the last minute
to take action," she said.
Students have until July 1 to return the loan request
form in order to allow the office time to process it.
The types of assistance available to students include
scholarships, which do not have to be repaid; grants, which are based
on students' needs and do not have to be repaid; and loans, which have
to be paid back after college.
Students who receive loans do not have to start
paying back the loans until six months after they graduate or whenever
they leave school for the first time. Hall said it usually takes a student
ten years to pay back the loan.
Hall said if students have any problems they may
go to the office for advice on managing their budget and for help in
finding a job during college, which will aid in paying back the loans.
"If the student is self-motivated and has a problem
they should come over and see us and we'll see if we can help them,"
she said.
David Reseigh, job location and development coordinator,
said the first place students should go to search for jobs is the job
listings site on SSINFO located under the campus life section. The site
provides a comprehensive list of jobs on and off campus and displays
whether or not they fall under the work study program. Students can
apply for work-study when they fill out their financial aid form.
If students continue to have trouble finding a
job they can go to the Student Employment Office, located across the
hall from the Financial Aid Office. Reseigh said the office does not
offer job placement but will give students information on employment
possibilities as well as offering tips on going to interviews and filling
out resumes.
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