Mesa Legend - ARCHIVES - Vol. 40, Issue 8


Volume 40, Issue 8. Today is .

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Volume 40, Issue 8.
January 21, 2003

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Financial aid awaits student applications
By Josh Careswell
Mesa Legend

With the rising cost of tuition at most schools, it is often necessary that students seek some sort of financial aid to help pay for school.
To assist students in getting help with paying for school, Mesa Community College offers many services at the Financial Aid Office and their website.

Joan Grover, the Financial Aid director at MCC for the past seven years, said, “The main function of the Financial Aid Office is to assist students with information and help with resources to finance the cost of going to college.”

Unfortunately, some students do not effectively use the services offered.

“I believe that to some degree they do, yet, I also believe that some students do not for various reasons.

“Some students do not think they qualify for aid, or the forms are too cumbersome,” Grover said.

“Some students may only be taking one class and feel that it is affordable to them. Some students may choose to cover the costs themselves or family covers the costs.”

But for those willing to take the time to fill out the forms, Grover suggests that they do it as early as possible.

“Applications are available as early as Jan. 1 and should be completed no later than April for the fall term,” Grover said. “If students plan to attend a university, the aid applications should be completed prior to April.”

The application a student should complete to be considered for financial aid is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
This application can be picked up at the

Financial Aid Office or filled out online at http://www.fasfa.ed.gov/. Not only does the website offer the application for aid, but it gives a list of qualifications for receiving aid.

Once the application is filled out, it is sent to the schools applied for, and they determine how much financial aid a students shall receive. “Federal aid amounts vary depending on eligibility and availability of funds,” Grover explained. “Each federal aid program has maximums for which a student may qualify.”

The types of aid that a student can receive from FAFSA are student loans and grants. Student loans have to be paid back with interest, grants do not. The other type of aid that a student can receive is scholarships. The MCC website has a database of many scholarships offered to students.

When applying for scholarships, Grover’s advice is, “Complete as many applications as possible. When answering scholarship essay questions, students should be creative with how they respond. Their answers should come from the heart.”