Tamaya Greenlee & Mason Kirchubel | DN Staff
Students applying for federal financial aid this year can get some help this spring from the country's leading educational loan company through online resources.
This year Sallie Mae will offer online how-to videos and an online chat Feb. 11.
Sallie Mae spokeswoman Patricia Nash Christel said the company will encourage students and families around the U.S. to apply for financial aid for the 2010-2011 academic year.
"FAFSA is your first step in qualifying for federal student aid that is available to you," she said. "The deadline for submitting the FAFSA to qualify for any state aid is March 10, so it's just around the corner."
Christel also said research by Gallup reported 24 percent of college families didn't complete their FAFSA last year. The study also found half of those families didn't know they qualified for aid or were not aware of the aid.
"We're trying to help families become aware of the financial aid process and the application form and we hope we are making it easier for people to complete," she said.
John McPherson, interim director of scholarships and financial aid, said families who haven't filed their annual taxes before the deadline sometimes worry about qualifying for federal aid.
"What some people don't realize is that you can estimate your tax information on the FAFSA forms then go back and update it once your taxes are filed," he said.
Sallie Mae spokeswoman Erica Eriksdotter said the 107-question form can be time consuming, but these resources help ease families' worries.
"When they do file [the FAFSA], they do have the access to the $168 billion the federal government provides," she said. "We want to make sure that they file the FAFSA to get access because if you don't file the FAFSA you are missing out on a lot of free money."
For biology major Ben Sauerwine, the form isn't confusing, but the deadlines make filling it out more of a burden.
"I usually fill it out myself but if you say that you're a student on your tax forms, they should automatically put the information into FAFSA," he said.
Freshman Tanya Gleason said she got help from her parents this year when she was filling our her FAFSA, .
"They helped when the forms got too confusing," Gleason said.
Christel hopes the videos and chats will reduce the confusion among applicants.
"We just launched the new videos and the new page from our Web site on Monday," she said. "So we hope that these resources will help families take that step that is really the first step in the financial aid process.
McPherson said these just add to the many resources that universities already offer students.
"There is a lot of awareness and outreach from the financial aid offices," he said. "But the most important thing students can do is apply by the March 10 deadline."
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