EIU Media Relations

EIU Offers Help With Financial Aid Forms

Feb-03-2006

Sending a child off to college is stressful enough. Add to that the complicated process of applying for financial aid and a parent might want to resign himself to sitting in a corner and staring out the window.

Eastern Illinois University wants to help.

The Office of Financial Aid is offering three free sessions to provide assistance with completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - the form that determines a student's eligibility for all types of federal student financial aid, including Pell grants and both subsidized and unsubsidized student loans. In addition, almost all schools use the data from a FAFSA to qualify a student for public and private scholarships.

These sessions are open to parents of college-bound high school seniors - regardless of the college the student has chosen.

Each session will begin with general information and follow with a line-by-line explanation and completion of the FAFSA. In addition, representatives from Eastern's Financial Aid Office will demonstrate internet completion which allows for a faster processing time.

There will be opportunities for staff to assist participants and answer questions, both privately and in a group session.

Sessions are planned for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, in the Arcola-Tuscola Room; 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in the Arcola-Tuscola Room; and 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, in the Greenup Room. All rooms are located in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union on EIU's campus.

Reservations are required. Please call or e-mail the Office of Financial Aid at (217) 581-3714; cspab@eiu.edu . The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

These sessions are being presented in conjunction with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission; the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Inc.; and the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling.