It’s here! FAFSA Friday. Today is a great opportunity to meet with Financial Aid in HAlle G11. Representatives will be there from 9-5 to help students with filling out their FAFSA correctly and on time and will take other financial aid questions all day. Check out some of the other sweet services available from Financial Aid. They are truly more than just,”Where’s my money?!”

Financial Aid is something that is on almost everyone’s mind at one point or another during their college career. You certainly can’t be very successful academically if you are constantly worried about paying for school.

Many students visit the Financial Aid office at the beginning of each semester with one burning question on their minds, “Where’s my money!?” It can feel like a run on the bank the first couple weeks of any semester when students are trying to register for classes! While the office does seek to address everyone’s financial concerns, this is the most common question asked there. It is easy to see why. When registration time comes around, and any student is not fully up to date on payments a hold can be placed on an account forcing students to register late and possibly limit the classes they can successfully register for. Popular classes don’t often last long. This can be one of the most stressful experiences a student can face in their academic career.

But you shouldn’t worry too much; the Office of Financial Aid is here to help! They can help you to find and fill out the right forms to get your money to you as soon as possible. Often, students don’t realize the amount of paperwork and time needed to fulfill their obligations to receive their refund. There are a myriad of forms and a byzantine labyrinth of regulations that can be near impossible to figure out on a full schedule of classes, work and social obligations. Fortunately, it is easy to find an expert guide at the Aid office on the 4th floor of Pierce Hall to help you find your way.

There are other reasons to visit Financial Aid. They offer help filling out FAFSA forms, as well as looking over tax and other financial records to make sure that everything is up to date and you can receive any loan dispersments on time. They also work closely with Student business Services, the group that manages Eagle One cards, an easy way to distribute loan refunds as well as student paychecks.

They also deal directly with student appeals and monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) making sure that students stay on track to meet University guidelines to receive financial aid. SAP requires all students to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA, and 2/3 completion rate for course taken. If either of these benchmarks falls below expectations, you could wind up on academic probation. Students on probation are given one semester to bring their grades and completion rate up to a satisfactory level or risk losing eligibility for aid. While this falls on the more unpleasant duties, Financial Aid also helps in taking special circumstances into account, allowing for special exceptions when needed. They also help with an appeals process for students who have worked or are working their way out of a probationary period.

With all of the resources at a student’s disposal through the office, it might seem like a place that would take a while to process through. However, it is far easier than you think. Students can simply drop in; there is no need for an appointment, Service EMU is open 8-5 Monday- Friday, with he exception of Thursday when they open at 9. There you will find a helpful and supremely knowledgeable adviser to help you take care of your financial issues so you can focus on your education, what really matters most. They can help you by looking through your records, pinpointing the areas that you need to work on to remove any obstacles in your way.