65 to 70 percent of A&M-Corpus Christi students receive some form of aid

If you asked freshman Abel Garza for advice about financial aid he’d tell you to apply early.

“It’s a little overwhelming thinking about all the paper work, but it really only takes a few hours,” he said. “Once you’re done you’re done, and the earlier you apply the better chances you have to be awarded more money.”

Financial aid experts agree that many students and parents get intimidated with the paper work. However, Garza was lucky. When he was a senior at Roy Miller high school a friend of his was an intervention specialist with the Upward Bound Program and he persuaded Garza to apply and helped him with the application.

Garza did qualify for aid and works on campus part-time through financial aid’s work study program.

“I love working on campus,” said Garza. “It’s so convenient because I can go to my morning classes and work in the afternoon and still have the evenings to study.”

High school students and their parents will also have an opportunity to receive help and ask questions during the “Financial Aid Fair” on Saturday, April 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Padre Staples Mall Center Court (first level). The fair hosted by the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Department of Financial Assistance is designed to help dispel some of the misconceptions students and parents may have about financial aid. The fair is free and open to the public.

University representatives and Co-Step, a student loan servicer and lender, will be on hand with the Mobile Educational Research Vehicle (MERV) to start processing student’s financial aid information. MERV “The Campus Cruiser” is a 36’ CruiseAir vehicle equipped with 10 Dell computers with wireless access to the Internet. It allows students to work at their own pace and search for scholarship information and transmit

their student aid forms via the Internet. Financial aid counselors will assist the students using MERV.

Anyone attending the fair will receive individualized counseling on all aspects of the financial aid process, which according to Jeannie Gage, interim director of financial assistance, is important because many times parents and students are afraid to ask questions or are intimidated at the thought of the paperwork.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about college financial aid, and if they qualify to receive assistance,” said Gage. “The truth is that income is only one of many factors looked at when calculating a financial aid package.”

Currently, 65 to 70 percent of the more than 8,000 students attending A&M-Corpus Christi receive some form of financial aid.

“Some students and parents worry that poor high school grades might be a factor in their not receiving financial aid or that there’s too much paperwork to fill out,” said Gage. “They’re always surprised when we tell them that grades do not determine aid and that all they have to fill out is a one page application. We want the public to know that it’s really easy and we are here to help them out any way we can.”