By Creshawna T. Parker
About 14,000 students on this campus receive some form of financial aid.
Three billion dollars is available every year to help Texans who attend college, according to the Web site http://www.collegefortexans.com.
Some students miss the opportunity to receive some type of federal student aid because either they wait until the last minute to fill out the FAFSA form, or they don’t fill out the FAFSA at all.
“It doesn’t cost anything to apply for federal aid, so all students are encouraged to fill out the FAFSA,” Javier Vargas, associate director of student financial services, said.
Some students choose not to fill out a FAFSA because they think they may not be eligible for any federal aid.
“Don’t assume you don’t qualify for any type of aid; there are grants, scholarships and other types of federal aid, but you just have to apply,” Rose Carreon-Munoz, senior associate director of student financial services at this college, said.
“About 23,000 students attend school here and about 14,000 of them receive some source of federal aid,” Vargas said.
The priority date to fill out the FAFSA form for the fall semester is April 1.
Apply as early as possible because the earlier, the better, both Carreon-Munoz and Vargas said.
To apply for FAFSA, you can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid online at www.fafsa.edu.gov. Completing the FAFSA form online is faster than mailing the form in.
To order the FAFSA, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at (800)433-3243.
For more information on how to apply for the FAFSA, contact the financial services office at 733-2150 or 733-2225, or visit the Web site at http://www.accd.edu/sac/sacmain/FINAID/studfina.html.