Financial Aid Literacy Day
Financial Aid Booth
By Alberto Muro
Financial aid provides relief for students with the intention of attending college , but it’s the cost of attendance that often sways students away from going to college. On October 14th, the financial aid department at Taft College provided an information booth for college students with questions about financial aid.
Taft College Financial Aid Director Barbara Amerio answered questions at the information booth for students with difficulties understanding financial aid. By creating a friendly environment, students that visited the Taft College information booth were eligible to win prizes by liking the Taft College Financial Aid Facebook page.
Barbara Amerio mentioned, “Students should not be hesitant to ask questions about their financial aid needs, and that the financial aid staff is there to help any student.” With that said, students at Taft College miss out on valuable information by not taking the initiative in talking to the financial aid department. Amerio also said that students can stay up to date by “checking their CougarTracks periodically to check their financial aid status and for any outstanding documents required by the Financial Aid Office.”
Next year, financial aid recipients at Taft College can expect a change that will further test a students determination to excel academically. Barbara Amerio said, “There are always changes happening in financial aid, and at Taft College we recently included that as of Fall 2016 students will be disqualified from their Board of Governors’ (BOG) waiver if they fail to keep satisfactory grades.”
Although some students at Taft College do not qualify for financial aid, there are alternatives which Amerio pointed out: “A scholarship page maintained by the Financial Aid Office is updated periodically of which students may browse and apply to each scholarship.” Overall, students at Taft College should visit the financial aid department because they are there to help with the cost of schooling.