Many eligible students are not applying for federal financial aid, according to a study released two weeks ago by the American Council of Education.
In 2000, 1.7 million eligible students missed out on potential money for college, according to the study, which the council does every three years. A study on more recent years will be released in 2006.
Some students are deterred by doubts about their eligibility and the hassles of filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which students must complete to be eligible to receive federal aid, according to Ken Red of the American Council on Education.
"Students do not apply because they think they will not qualify," Red said. "About 850,000 students missed out on opportunities for Pell Grants because of this misunderstanding."
Another major problem is filing the FAFSA after major deadlines, which could decrease the aid the applicant receives.
However, while only about half of freshmen nationwide apply for aid, AU appears to be ahead of the trend.
"Approximately 60 percent of students at AU receive some type of financial aid," said Amy Gerber, associate director of financial aid. "Of this, last year there were approximately 720 Pell Grant recipients, which totaled about $1.8 million."
The Financial Aid Office runs a "FAFSA filing campaign" in January and February to alert students to file their forms. Various methods are used during this campaign to reach students, including three postcard mailings, messages on the marquee near Bender Arena and advertisements in The Eagle.
Joe Aiello, Department of Education spokesman, said communication is the answer to this problem.
"The solution is educating America," Aiello said. "A lot of people don't think they qualify for aid, so they don't even apply. That's a mistake."
However, more students fill out the federal form each year, he said.
"Most recently our figures indicate there were 13 million FAFSA applications submitted and 10 million students were eligible for student aid," Aiello said. "The student aid dollars available total $69 billion."
Rob Famigletti, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, said that completing the FAFSA is worth the effort.
"People who do not seek financial aid must not want or need it very badly," Famigletti said. "The financial aid that the government and the University offer can be a big help to one's family and only requires minimal effort to receive"
