Students should be aware of some financial aid deadlines and changes for the 2008-2009 academic year.

The first deadline to be aware of is the March 1 deadline for FAFSA and scholarship applications. Students do not have to have their taxes complete to meet this deadline. However, for those needing help with filing taxes, there will be several free tax days throughout February. Days and times can be located on the CSU-Pueblo Web site.

Students are encouraged to apply for financial aid early. There are several benefits to getting applications in early. It is more likely that students applying early can get more money and/or better money which means they are more likely to receive grants as opposed to loans.

Also, this gives staff time to ensure that there are no problems with money arriving on time, and if there are problems they can be addressed earlier to ensure money will be in the first week of school.

A new process is also being implemented. For the 2008-2009 academic year, financial aid processing will occur exclusively online. All information regarding financial aid will be sent to students’ CSU-Pueblo e-mail accounts.

Sean McGivney, Student Financial Aid Director, encourages all students to become familiar with this e-mail account. Students will get e-mail reminders that will direct them to their CSU-Pueblo Paws accounts for anything regarding their financial aid.

Students who need assistance with using their campus e-mail accounts can contact the Information Technology Services Help Desk at 549-2002.

McGivney also wants to remind students that resources are available for summer financial aid. Registration for summer will begin in March. Students’ wishing to apply for summer financial aid must pick up an application in the financial aid office from a financial aid counselor. There is plenty of summer financial aid available and students should really consider taking summer courses, McGivney said.