Free financial aid,not headache free

Juan L. Lopez, a business major at Cal State Long Beach, is a student on financial aid who says applying for financial aid seems too long a process.

First, in order to receive financial aid, students at CSULB must apply for Federal and State aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Mike Flores from the Financial Aid Office says that eligible students may qualify for different types of campus financial aid such as State University Grant, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Work-Study and Educational Opportunity Program Grants. "Federal Work-Study is a federally-funded program that offers part-time job opportunities to students on campus or with organizations off campus,"Flores said.

For students to remain eligible for financial assistance, they are required by Financial Aid to have a grade point average of no less than 2.0 on campus. According to Flores, to get an appointment with the Financial Aid office on campus, students must obtain a referral slip at the Financial Aid window where it is determined if students need to make an appointment or not.

"Students can no longer make appointments the way they used to the previous semesters,"Flores said.

Students can obtain the status of their financial aid by calling the Financial Aid office. The first major disbursement of financial aid checks to students will be during the first week of this semester. Checks will be mailed to students unless a student requests that it should not be mailed or if students are receiving a Stafford Loan, according to Flores.

Other types of student aid programs available to students include Cal Grant (Offered by the California Student Aid Commission), Federal Pell Grant or Federal Stafford Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans.

To obtain more information on Federal student financial aid, one can send for a free copy of "The Student Guide: Financial Aid from the U.S. Department of Education" at the Federal Student Aid Information Center, P.O. Box 84, Washington, DC 20044.

For more information regarding federal student aid programs, students can contact the U.S. Department of Education at the toll-free number, 1 (800) 730-8913. The Financial Aid Office number is 985-4641.