{"id":7193,"date":"2021-09-16T02:03:10","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T19:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/?p=7193"},"modified":"2022-04-13T10:16:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T03:16:41","slug":"financial-aid-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/financial-aid-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial Aid for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Graphic by Kate Korepova<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Duncan McIntyre<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Pete Ramirez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the age of COVID-19, students in higher education institutions around the world have had to cope with a rapidly changing collegiate landscape. Classes are largely being held virtually, and students have had to deal with the financial strain caused by a global economic downturn. Some students may now, more than ever, need additional resources to help pay for school. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For students at Austin Community College, this help can come in many forms. In addition to federal grants and loans, emergency relief funding from the American Rescue Plan now offers assistance to students who have been financially impacted by COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process to apply for financial aid can be difficult to navigate, and some students may not know what assistance is available. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is one of the most commonly utilized tools for students seeking aid, but there are also lesser-known avenues that students can take.                                                                           <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belinda Pe\u00f1a, an outreach coordinator for the ACC work-study program, discussed some of the benefits of applying for FAFSA.                                                                                         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main benefit is you\u2019re applying for several types of financial aid all in one application,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said \u201cWith just the FAFSA application, students are applying for grants, loans and work-study, which is a type of part-time work that students can do on-campus or off-campus.\u201d                               <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another application, the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) is also available. \u201cThe TASFA is very similar – it\u2019s just for a specific population of students.\u201d Pe\u00f1a said \u201cSo if they\u2019re undocumented, for example, they may qualify. With the TASFA they\u2019re applying for grant money and work-study.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The financial aid department also offers resources for students who need help applying for FAFSA and other types of assistance. On their website, there are videos with step-by-step instructions and a chatbot that students can use 24\/7 to locate relevant information.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department also offers virtual workshops at certain times of the year. In October, when the FAFSA application for the 2022-2023 school year opens; there will be a month of workshops that students can attend to get help completing their applications.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pe\u00f1a also encourages students to seek alternative forms of aid. \u201cHere at ACC we have over 600 scholarship opportunities that only require one application,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said \u201cOn our website, we also have a list of external scholarships. You can apply for external scholarships that are offered through different nonprofits and organizations throughout Texas.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isabel Torres is a single mother, an ACC student, and a participant in the work-study program. In regards to the financial aid process, Torres said \u201cIt was super easy. Financial aid was really good about giving me the steps for doing the financial aid application and explaining the differences between the grants.\u201d                                                                                                         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torres also connected with student assistance services, where she was able to find help caring for her child while continuing to pursue her education. \u201cI have a daughter who\u2019s 4, and she goes to the ACC child lab. She\u2019s got great instructors,\u201d Torres said.                                         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Isabel
Austin Community College student, Isabel Torres, and her daughter. Torres has utilized ACC’s student assistance services to complete her FAFSA and access childcare which is helping her complete her schooling. Photo provided by Isabel Torres <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before coming to school, Torres was concerned about the affordability of education. \u201cIt was not in the budget at all,\u201d Torres said. \u201cFinancial aid was a really crucial part of continuing my education.\u201d                                                                                                                           <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students may be offered participation in work-study in their financial aid package. In work-study, they can earn $15.60 an hour, but unlike traditional aid such as grants and loans, students don\u2019t have access to all the money offered at one time.                                                            <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torres recommends the program to all students. \u201cThe best thing about it is that you can make your schedule, you\u2019re not going to be forced to work 40 hours a week,\u201d Torres said. \u201cThe program is really flexible.\u201d                                                            <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a participant in the program, Torres is employed by Student Affairs and works closely with advising and academic coaching counselors. In doing so, she has gained essential skills that will help her in her career to come. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learn a lot of tools that are essential, especially interacting with people. Communication is going to be essential no matter what career I intend to go towards,\u201d Torres said.                   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For students who are curious about the work-study program, or are trying to find help paying for school, Isabel has these words of advice: \u201cI feel that at some point each student should try to meet with an advising counselor or check out student assistance resources. There are so many good tools that we offer. They really do want to help. You can ease the burden of responsibilities and focus on your future.\u201d                                                                                                                           <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FAFSA application for the 2022-2023 school year opens in October, but applications are still available for students who have already started classes and who need aid.  Students looking for help paying for school can contact the student services help desk by calling 512-223-4243.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graphic by Kate Korepova Written by Duncan McIntyre Edited by Pete Ramirez In the age of COVID-19, students in higher education institutions around the world have had to cope with a rapidly changing collegiate landscape. Classes are largely being held virtually, and students have had to deal with the financial strain caused by a global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4103,"featured_media":7194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1135,12],"tags":[38,1094,53,100,1200,1198,1196,975,1201,1199,1202,953,1197,1203],"class_list":["post-7193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news","category-news","tag-acc","tag-accent","tag-accent-news","tag-austin-community-college","tag-belinda-pena","tag-duncan-mcintyre","tag-fafsa","tag-financial-aid","tag-grants","tag-isabel-torres","tag-loans","tag-money","tag-tafsa","tag-work-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}