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Deadline Set for College Financial Aid Priority Applications

March 2 is the last day for students to file federal FAFSA applications for the 2007-08 Fiscal Year

Most California State University campuses still accepting admission applications for 2007/08 college year

(January 8, 2007) California State University undergraduate students who wish to receive financial aid during the 2007-08 college year should file their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) now through March 2. While the FAFSA may be filed after March, those filing before the priority deadline increase the likelihood of receiving maximum consideration for all sources of aid. Students should also ask their campuses to submit a verified grade point average (GPA) to the California Student Aid Commission by March 2 to be considered for a Cal Grant.

Most of CSU’s 23 campuses are also still accepting undergraduate admissions applications from both first-time freshman and transfer students for fall 2007.

After filling out their FAFSA forms online at CSUMentor.edu, students may transfer their application data from CSUMentor’s transfer module directly to the U.S. Department of Education’s FAFSA website.

While CSU discourages students from filing the paper FAFSA, it encourages families to complete the FAFSA Web Worksheet prior to filing the online FAFSA. Go directly to the U.S. Department of Education’s website at fafsa.ed.gov. to access the Web Worksheet. The FAFSA needs to be filed every year a student wishes to be considered for financial aid.

“It’s critical to do your homework to figure out what types of financial aid you are eligible for, and to get your FAFSA application in on time because that form is also often used to determine your eligibility for other financial aid programs available at CSU campuses,” said Dr. Gary Reichard, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at CSU. “Admission to individual campuses and programs is subject to closure at any time, so any delay in sending in your FAFSA could reduce your options. We are committed to providing access to all qualified applicants; however, an early application guarantees the largest array of choices for individual students.”

There are four key steps CSU students need to complete to see if they are eligible to receive a financial aid package. Descriptions of the four tasks and other tutorials are available on CSUMentor.edu.

The first two steps for students are estimating their financial aid eligibility, then filing a FAFSA form with the federal government. Third, after filing the FAFSA, students should research the types of financial aid available while waiting for their Student Aid Reports (SAR) the federal government sends to them after evaluating their applications. When students receive their SARs, they should check for errors and make corrections to their FAFSA online. If there are no errors, the last task for students is to wait patiently for the financial aid office to contact them.

Admission Applications
Though a record number of admission applications were filed on CSUMentor during the priority application period, most campuses are still receiving and processing undergraduate applications for Fall 2007.

Currently, the CSU campuses still open for admission applications are

Still open to first-time freshman:

· California Maritime Academy
· Cal State Bakersfield
· Cal State Channel Islands
· Chico State
· Cal State Dominguez Hills
· Cal State East Bay
· Fresno State
· Cal State Fullerton (engineering and computer science only)
· Humboldt State
· Cal State Los Angeles
· Cal State Monterey Bay
· Cal State Northridge
· Sacramento State
· Cal State San Bernardino
· San Francisco State
· San Jose State
· Cal State San Marcos
· Cal State Stanislaus

Still open to junior level transfers:

· California Maritime Academy
· Cal Poly Pomona
· Cal State Bakersfield
· Cal State Channel Islands
· Chico State
· Cal State Dominguez
· Cal State East Bay
· Fresno State
· Cal State Fullerton
· Humboldt State
· Cal State Long Beach (some programs)
· Cal State Los Angeles
· Cal State Monterey Bay
· Cal State Northridge
· Sacramento State
· Cal State San Bernardino
· San Francisco State
· San Jose State
· Cal State San Marcos (nursing only)
· Cal State Stanislaus
· Sonoma State

To find a continually updated list of campuses still open to applications, go to CSUMentor.edu, click on “Is your campus still accepting applications?” and select “Undergraduate” and “Fall 2007” from the pull-down menus.

About California State University
The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, approximately 405,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff. Since the system was created in 1961, it has awarded nearly 2.5 million degrees, about 84,000 annually. The CSU is renowned for the quality of its teaching and for the job-ready graduates it produces. Its mission is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of the people of California. With its commitment to excellence, diversity and innovation, the CSU is the university system that is working for California. See www.calstate.edu