Some students are not receiving the maximum financial aid they are eligible for because they are not completing their Free Application for Federal Student Aid applications.
A recent report by the American Council on Education states that half of the 8 million undergraduates enrolled in college in 1999-2000 and who participated in federal student aid programs did not fill out a FAFSA.
The council, a representative body for colleges and universities nationwide, released a report that said 850,000 students who participated in financial aid programs would have received a Pell Grant, the principal federal grant for low-income students, if they had filled out a FAFSA application.
The study's findings solicit a nationwide question as to why students are not completing the application.
Ben Baaron, vice president of academics for Test Prep and Admissions at KAPLAN Inc., a company that provides services at a fee including financial advice for students, said the FAFSA process intimidates many people.
It's essentially like doing your taxes
he said.
Intimidation causes people to procrastinate and miss deadlines, Baaron said. He said other barriers to completing FAFSA applications include people who are not fluent in English or Spanish, parents who are uncomfortable sharing financial information with their children or the government and a lack of a central place to ask questions. In addition, Baaron said some students incorrectly assume they will not qualify for aid.
Ohio University freshman Amelia Zupke said she and her mom began to complete a FAFSA application online last year but were discouraged by the complicated process.
It was kind of pointless to go through all the PIN numbers Zupke said.
Zupke works at the Aquatic Center to help pay for school and is unsure if she will fill out a FAFSA application next year.
OU junior Emily Beveridge said she has filled out a FAFSA application every year. Each year the amount of aid she has received has decreased. Beveridge said she is lucky that it is not preventing her from going to school, but she could see how it would discourage some students. She said she plans to fill out an application for next year.
Money is money Beveridge said.
To help pay for school, many students are turning to alternative loans to compensate for the need they still have after federal, state and institutional aid.
In 1999-2000, OU students used almost $900,000 in alternative loans to help pay for school. In 2002-03, they used $6.8 million, and last year, the number jumped to $11.1 million, said Sondra Williams, director of OU's Student Financial Aid Office.
Williams said students, especially high school seniors, might be confused as to how the federal financial aid process works, but the Student Financial Aid Office tries to counteract this by providing informational sessions at high schools for seniors and their families.
In 1999-2000, 86 percent of the OU student body completed a FAFSA application. According to the ACE report, 58 percent of students at four-year colleges nationwide completed an application.
The university's 2005-06 deadline for FAFSA applications is March 15, 2005. Students who submit their applications by this deadline will be considered first priority and eligible for all funding OU has available. She said campus-based aid almost always runs out on first priority students. The deadlines for federal aid and state aid are April 1 and Oct. 1, respectively.
Williams said FAFSA needs four weeks to process applications and send them to universities, so students should complete their applications four weeks prior to OU's deadline. Information in FAFSA applications goes to federal, state and campus-based institutions. The college or university a student attends will be a factor in determining how much aid he or she can receive, and students are not guaranteed any money.
Despite this, both Baaron and Williams said that filling out an application is worth the effort.
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Maggie Bushek
