February 6, 2007 :: Billions in Student Financial Aid Are Up for Grabs
Media Contact: Ben Hardcastle
Office: 1.405.225.9346
Mobile: 1.405.640.9672
bhardcastle@osrhe.edu
Billions of dollars in financial aid for college are up for grabs, and Oklahoma students need to act fast to get their share. Those who delay run the risk of losing free money.
Students and their families can easily apply for this money by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is used to determine a student’s eligibility for student aid, such as federal and state grants and federally subsidized student loans.
“Most financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis,” said Mary Mowdy, executive director of the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program (OGSLP). “Delaying the application can be costly.”
The student’s and his or her family’s income tax information is required to complete the FAFSA. Therefore, students and their families should file their income taxes as early as possible.
One-on-one help with completing the FAFSA will be available at college campuses across the state at the upcoming event, College Goal SundaySM on Sunday, Feb. 11. A complete listing of locations is available online at www.ogslp.org/cgs.
The fastest and easiest way to complete the FAFSA is to fill it out online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The student and his or her parents should first obtain a personal identification number at www.pin.ed.gov.
“The online FAFSA will enable all required signatures to be made electronically and will shorten the processing time by about three weeks,” Mowdy said.
Paper versions of the FAFSA can be obtained from high school counselors, school financial aid offices, public libraries or by calling 1.800.4.FED.AID.
Mowdy also recommends that the student and his or her family contact the financial aid office of each school he or she might attend. This will help ensure that all application deadlines are met.
For more information about financial aid, students and their families can call the OGSLP customer service department at 405.234.4340 or toll-free at 1.800.442.8642, or visit the OGSLP Web site at www.ogslp.org.
OGSLP is a division of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and is Oklahoma’s designated guarantor of student loans funded through the Federal Family Education Loan Program.
