The temperature is dropping. The leaves are falling. Tests and other school work have entered into a frenetic pace. Christmas is just a little over 2 months away. This time of year brings to mind a few things: picking apples, carving pumpkins (and roasting pumpkin seeds!!), raking leaf piles, and unfortunately, FLU season. With the threat of the regular Flu and this new fangled H1N1 virus, many doctors are warning us all to be wary and constantly monitor our symptoms. I would like to propose a somewhat gloomy analogy…. Just like our doctors have given us warnings and precautionary measures to protect ourselves from getting the FLU, there are also some things that you can do to make sure your financial aid doesn’t keep you out of school for next semester! Stick with me, because I think you will find this information very helpful!
Tip # 1: Make sure your financial file is complete!
Hopefully by now you have already submitted a FAFSA and you have already heard back from our office letting you know whether or not we can complete your file, or if we need more information. If you have received an award letter and returned it back to our office, then rest easy, your file is complete. If you have not received an award letter, please contact our office as we will need additional documentation to complete your file.
Tip # 2: Make sure you have received all of the awards you are eligible for!
Run a quick check on your award letter and compare it to your account summary on Campus Cruiser. If the numbers don’t seem to add up, please take a moment and see if you can determine where the shortcomings might lie. If you still cannot seem to decipher the numbers, give us a call and we can look into it for you. If you have been awarded grants, loans, or scholarships that are not accounted for in your account summary, please give us a call.
Tip # 3: Have you gotten your refund check?
We have been working frantically to get all loans certified and all refund checks mailed out to students as soon as possible. I am very happy to report that as of today we are up to date with loan certifications. What this means for you is that if your loan has not been certified then there is a problem with your loan eligibility. I would recommend contacting our office to determine what you can do to correct this. Secondly, if you have not received your refund check you may wish to check with us, but if you have received your “Official” award letter, then rest easy, because your refund is on the way!
Tip # 4: Are you maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress?
In order to maintain your eligibility for federal financial aid in the next semester you must maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and maintain a cumulative 2/3 completion rate. How are your grades looking for this semester? Are you in danger of slipping below the critical 2.0 GPA mark? If so, there are numerous ways to find help in ensuring that your GPA does not suffer this semester and you can maintain your financial aid well into the future. You could contact Student Support Services and request a tutor, you could contact your professor and see if they can provide additional assistance, you could form a study group with your classmates to try and get help from your peers, you could even visit the GTC library and utilize their resources. If you think you might be in danger of falling below these standards, please contact our office. We can sit down with you and discuss your specific situation and see what can be done to keep you above the standards and maintain your financial aid.
I hope you have found some of these tips helpful! We want to hear from you so please let us know if you would like to see more of these tips, if these tips did not apply to you, or if you have additional questions outside of these tips!
As always, thank you for visiting and please tell all of your friends. Together we can make financial aid work for you!
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