By Damien Campbell
“We will do everything we can to help you.” -Angela L. Karlin, UCM Financial Student Aid Director
College is expensive. For anyone planning to attend university or community college, the financial planning can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, there are sources from which students can get financial help to attend college.
Academic Financial Aid is funding intended to help students pay for their education expenses like tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies and plenty more.
Angela L. Karlin, Financial Student Aid Director at the University of Central Missouri, recently spoke to potential future UCM students about the benefits of financial aid.
“Financial Aid–everyone can apply,” Karlin said, “and everyone is eligible for a student loan.” While noting that “we will do everything we can to help you,” she also said that funding can come all over the place, but they combine all of the individual’s financial aid and create the best personalized financial aid package for an individual.
Karlin said that financial aid is based on two main criteria. Non-mean aid is based on an individual’s attributes, such as awards won, community service performed, etc.
A second type of aid is financial-mean, meaning aid based on financial need. Students hoping to earn financial aid based on need must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The U.S. Department of Education manages the student financial assistance programs and awards student loans based on the financial information in the FAFSA.
The governement website https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about provides information to students and parents paying for college or career school. Applications are free and juniors will be able to start their applications in October of 2016. Although deadlines vary for filing FASFA, some colleges will have different deadline dates.
While paying for higher education can seem momentous, aid is available and accessible for students.. To contact Angela L. Karlin for any personal reasons related to financial aid, email her: [email protected].
