Oh my goodness!

I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW BUSY THIS YEAR HAS BEEN!!

Travel season this year hit me pretty hard in regards to being able to process applications and every second I had in the office was spent on you guys! :) The holidays came and went...I LOVE CHRISTMAS...and as such...here we are in February. I promise I won't let this blog go like I did before. It's a top priority to do my weekly posting! :)

So! The financial aid process is in full swing here at UST as well as the Spring Semester!! :)

Have you filed your FAFSA yet? If you haven't, don't sweat it! You still have time, but you want to go ahead and pressure your folks to try to do it as soon as possible! In just a few weeks, the colleges you've sent information to will begin sending out their financial packages.

What does that mean? That means you are ONE STEP CLOSER to beginning your college career! Why? You can't go to college unless you find the FUNDING! The FAFSA helps you do so!

So what's your first step?

1. GET YOUR PIN NUMBER!
- Make sure you and your folks go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to sign up for your PIN numbers. This allows you to electronically sign your FAFSA. If you do the sign page, it might take longer to process your FAFSA when it makes it to Washington, or wherever it goes! :)

2. FILE TAXES!
-The easiest way to assure your financial aid package is as accurate as possible, have your parents file their 2007 taxes and this will make things so very very simple!

3. FILE FAFSA!
-Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and file that FAFSA! If you have a copy of your parents' tax forms, you'll get it done in just 15 minutes or so! :)

If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to give our Office of Scholarship & Financial Aid a call at 713/525-2170. Your financial aid counselor will always be more than happy to help you!

Every student is assigned a financial aid counselor based on last name. The breakdown goes as follows:

Salomon Medina (A-F/I) 713/525-3414
Marisela Maldonado (J-N/P) 713/942-5065 *Spanish speaking
Lety Gallegos (G) 713/525-2177 *Spanish speaking
Lynda LeClair (H) 713/525-2173
Jan Abasolo (Q-Z/O) 713-525-2174

Give them a call! :) They are the COOLEST people and they know their stuff when it comes to financial aid.

So I hope this semester is going well for you guys!! :) I'll be posting again next week with some more good info! :)