UWG News Archive

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month

February 3, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - The deadline to qualify for federal student aid is coming up soon and University of West Georgia students and high school seniors are encouraged to submit free applications at the UWG Department of Financial Aid office in Aycock Hall.

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month and UWG counselors are available to help students file free applications Feb. 7-11. In addition, the department will hold a “Carnival of Information” at the Technology-enhanced Learning Center on Tuesday, Feb. 22 , from 4-7 p.m., said UWG financial aid counselor Zina Coley.

Also on Feb. 22, the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) will hold a free Internet “chat” to answer questions from students and parents about scholarships and financial aid. During the seventh annual Georgia Student Financial Aid Chat Night, financial aid professionals will be on hand to help during a live, three-hour session from 6-9 p.m. Participants can call in or log on to ask questions about state and federal aid.

Information will be available on Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Grant Program, student loans, grants, military scholarships, work-study programs and more. Participants can ask questions about completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is used for both state and federal financial aid programs.

Reports also will be available about Georgia’s unique service-cancelable loans, which allow graduates to repay their college loans by working in the state in designated critical shortage fields, including teaching and nursing. Some loans may be repaid through military service.

To participate in the chat, log on to www.gsfc.org and click on the Chat Night icon in the center of the page. Those who do not have Internet access can call the GSFC toll-free number 1-800-505-4732 to speak to a financial aid professional.

The Department of Financial Aid at UWG is the primary institutional unit that assists students in financing their educational expenses though a variety of federal, state and institutional loans, grants, scholarships and work programs.

In administering these programs, the office works directly with applicants for student aid, with their parents or sponsors, and with secondary school personnel in providing information and assistance to current and prospective recipients of aid. The student aid delivery system touches, in one way or another, almost every department and organization at the University.

In addition, the Financial Aid office works with numerous offices and organizations external to the institution such as need analysis services, financial institutions, and state and federal governmental agencies or their contractors.

The general scholarship deadline is March 1 and applications are online at www.westga.edu/~finaid or can be picked up at the Financial Aid office.

For more information, contact the UWG Financial Aid office at 678-839-6421.

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