Book Vouchers and a New Year

Happy 2010! A new year brings a new semester and that means spring registration. Classes have already started and hopefully you are all in the swing of things. Just a few quick points about this semester:

• Book vouchers are now available for print through January 22, 2010. If you are having trouble printing your book voucher, you may need to come into the office and a financial aid officer can assist you in obtaining your book voucher.
• If this is your first semester and you are just now submitting your FAFSA, be sure to check back with us to verify that we have all of the information we need to complete your FAFSA.
• If you are selected for verification, we will send you a letter notifying you of the documents we need. please be sure to return with all of the requested documents. This will allow us to process your FAFSA in the quickest manner possible.
• If you are receiving student loans for the very first time here at GTC, be sure to complete a session of Entrance Loan Counseling at: http://mappingyourfuture.org/FAP/ and also complete a Master Promissory Note with your chosen lender

These are the high points for right now. As always, if you have any specific questions, please feel free to leave a comment and we will get back with you as quickly as possible.

Holiday Update

It is that time of year again!

We will be taking off the next two weeks in observance of the holiday season and we will return on January 4th to bring in the new year and the new semester!

A word of encouragement: After all of the presents have been unwrapped, all of the eggnog has been drunk, and the decorations have been taken down, I would encourage you to do a mental check of your financial aid.

If you have completed this past semester successfully, and you have registered for Spring classes, your financial aid should already be in place. You can simply come into the Admissions and Registration Center on January 5th, to print your book voucher and purchase your textbooks. If you had some difficulties this past semester and you think you might be in danger of falling below a 2.0 gpa and not completing 2/3 of your credit hours, then you will want to check your campus cruiser e-mail account. If there is a problem with your financial aid for the Spring semester, you will have an e-mail explaining the situation. Please read this e-mail and follow the instructions provided on how you can regain your financial aid eligibility!

Also, remember that we are rapidly approaching tax season which means that the 2010-2011 FAFSA will soon be up and available. Continue to check back for additional updates and information regarding the new academic year!

If you encounter questions over the break please refer to the numerous posts in this blog where many common financial aid questions have been answered. Don't forget to check the comments where many more details are explained!

You also can check out the newly redesigned financial aid website for any additional questions. http://www.gvltec.edu/financial_aid/

Thank you as always for your time, and from all of us here in Financial Aid....."Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

Federal Student Aid Update

This past week I was in Nashville, TN for the Federal Student Aid Conference. This event was hosted by the Department of Education and was a 5 day event aimed at updating all financial aid workers on changes, plans, and future updates within the federal student aid system.

If you have followed the major news from Washington these past few months, you have probably heard about our President's proposal to transition all student loan lending under the Stafford and PLUS loan programs to the William D. Ford Direct Lending program. This will mark a significant change in how our school manages student loans. We as a school have decided to go ahead and make the switch as of the 2010-2011 school year, which will go into effect in August of 2010. We have just begun the process of converting to Direct Lending and will hopefully complete early in Spring 2010. So, please continue to check back for future updates and any additional information as it becomes available.

With all change comes some difficulties, but after hearing directly from the US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, this transition will ensure student access to Stafford and PLUS loans into the future and allow all of you, our students, to continue to progress towards your educational, career, and life goals that have begun with your education here at Greenville Technical College. We as a financial aid office are committed to ensuring your access to funding for your education and will do all within our power to make this transition a smooth one.

If you have any questions concerning the transition to Direct Lending, please contact DJ Wetzel, at Donald.Wetzel@gvltec.edu

Scholarships for Welding Students

The American Welding Society (AWS) has contacted Greenville Technical College about the opportunities they are offering students for competitive scholarships. They have created the AWS Foundation which has numerous scholarship programs through which they award students. An overview of these programs can be found at http://www.aws.org/foundation/

The submission deadlines are March 1st.

Please contact DJ Wetzel at Donald.Wetzel@gvltec.edu for more information and applications.

MLK Dream Weekend Scholarship

As part of the MLK Dream Weekend, January 15 – 18, Greenville Technical College will present a $3,000 tuition scholarship to be awarded at the Diversity Banquet on January 15 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Students interested in applying for this scholarship, along with two other scholarship opportunities, are encouraged to go to

http://www.mlkdreamweekend.com/scholarships/

to download an application packet. Deadline for entry is December 11.

New Scholarship

The C.G. Fuller Foundation Scholarship Program is once again accepting applications for the upcoming 2010-2011 Academic Year. The scholarship is worth $1,000 per semester.

To qualify, an applicant must:

• Be a South Carolina Resident
• Attend a SC College or University
• Be high school seniors entering their first year of college
• Have SAT scores that meet or exceed 1100
• AGI of parents must not exceed $60,000

All applications must be submitted to GTC Financial Aid Office by March 15th.

For Applications and questions please contact DJ Wetzel at: Donald.Wetzel@gvltec.edu

Ask the Readers! Financial Literacy Edition

You are our most valuable source of information! The world of financial aid that we live in is constantly changing. With every change that we make, we also have to consider how these changes effect you, our students. So with that in mind, we would love to hear your input on a new program that we are considering building.

Financial Literacy

This would be a pilot program to be started through the financial aid office to offer basic financial advice for free. It will be centered around paying for college, student loans, budgeting, and creating a stable financial base during, and after college. With a majority of our students here at GTC receiving student loans, financial literacy has become a priority. We will discuss topics such as repaying your student loans, managing credit, creating a budget, repairing bad credit, and discuss where to go when you run into financial difficulties.

We feel that a program of this nature will help you to feel better prepared to enter into your chosen career as more well-rounded, capable individuals. A solid financial base is essential to your future success and that is what this program to designed to teach.

Please give us your feedback. Is this a program that would interest you? What topics would you like to see covered? Would you spend one hour in a free workshop to learn about managing your money?

As always, thank you for your participation in this blog! We cannot do this without you!