Luo qin Yi, a science major and American River College transfer student, has experienced difficulties adjusting into her spring semester due to financial aid strains. The switch to Sacramento State’s tuition costs has made her start applying for several scholarships to continue to pay for her books, gas and parking permit.

Yi is still taking some transferable courses at ARC to save money while she attends Sac State. Her part-time job doesn’t cover all the expenses she needs especially since “the gas is too much,” she said.

“Many of my friends are moving back with their parents to save money and afford school. I’ve even heard some divorced students moving back with their exes to just make it through,” Yi said.

Interior design major Kelsey Cremer doesn’t qualify for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and instead applies for a veteran’s scholarship every semester. Cremer’s father is retired from the military; therefore, she qualifies for the grant. However, she must have a total of 12 units and ends up paying a difference of $440.

“The economy is so bad that is getting harder to find jobs, and I just don’t know how to afford school,” Cremer said.

Craig Yamamoto, director of Financial Aid, said his office is not cutting any state or federal grants because the aid for 2008-09 was already budgeted.

“The state delayed advancing the Cal grant for the spring semester, yet the university made the decision to not hold students accountable for it,” Yamamoto said, “and disburse those funds to students even though we didn’t get the funds from the state.”

The Financial Aid office is informing students about approaching deadlines to help pay for their college education. One of the most important deadlines is filing for the FAFSA on March 2. Yamamoto and the Financial Aid Office will be offering workshops to help students fill out their FAFSA online to meet priority deadlines since the federal grant are distributed to those students with the highest needs.

Yamamoto said because the financial aid process is complicated, his office’s goal is to make applying for grants and awards as painless as possible.

Approximately 65 to 70 percent of students at Sac State receive financial aid, Yamamoto said.

For students who don’t qualify for financial aid, there are other options such as scholarships. However, students must still complete the FAFSA application to be considered for any scholarships. The Financial Aid Office is offering now the Institutional scholarship, which is available for all students until March 3.

Three types of scholarships are the offered at Sac State: institutional, departmental and community scholarships. These are disbursed into two payments in the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.

Once student aid awards are distributed, the office offers a service called eREFUND that electronically deposits the student’s grant into their bank account.

In mid-April, the Financial Aid office will be offering other workshops for those students who did not get the opportunity to attend to the February workshop. Yamamoto said he wants the April campaign to help those students finish their FAFSA before the end of the spring semester

Yamamoto wants all students to know how important it is to finish filling out their FAFSA “the way the economy is students and families are struggling in how they are going to pay their college and making through school.”

10 things students should need to know about Cal Grants

1. Cal Grants are free money-You don’t have to pay back.

2. Must fill out and submit the free application for FAFSA going to www.fafsa.ed.gov get a personal identification number (PIN) and fill out the FAFSA online

3.Must file a verified GPA

4. Deadline to apply for a Cal Grant is March 2.

5. Cal Grants are good at all UCs, CSUs, community colleges, and most private, career and technical schools in California.

6.Must meet financial need requirements to qualify.

7. Must be California resident.

8. Must have at least a 2.0 GPA and graduate from high school.

9. A Cal Grant is guaranteed if you meet al requirements.

10. Cal Grants are up to $9,700 of free cash annually for college!!!

FREE WORKSHOP:

2/16/09- Mendocino Hall room 2007

Anytime between 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

2/18/09- anytime between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

2/19/09- anytime between 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

March 2nd FAFSA Dead Last day to apply.

Scholarships at Sacramento State are available at:

1. In the Financial Aid website clicking at scholarships then at Department Scholarship Website which list all the scholarships from each department offered.

2. Fastweb.com is another free safe scholarship website that offers more scholarships by simple creating an account.

3. FindTuition.com the latest news about new scholarships

Karina Yepez can be reached at [email protected]