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Faces and Places: Janet May offers tips for students to be financial-aid savvy

Posted on Mar 08, 2010 in News

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With the stress of assignments and hectic day-to-day schedules, most students find it difficult to find time to worry about financial problems.

Choices about what to eat for dinner or how to make a good grade on that looming exam seem to become priorities over tallying up sums of money for the academic year.

For Janet May and her team in the financial aid office, helping students and parents learn how to save money for college is priority. Their team helps them apply for aid during their college experience.

“We counsel students and parents on the financial processes, as well as do outreach programs and PowerPoints on the federal processes and timelines to area high schools for anyone interested in coming to UAB,” said May.

May has been the director of financial aid since 1995, and she enjoys helping students learn more about the whole process of saving money.

“Working with young faces never gets old. I love feeling like I have made a difference in allowing someone to be able to continue their education,” May added, smiling.

The financial aid office strives to help anyone interested in going to college and tells anyone interested to apply for your FAFSA immediately.

“A lot of people think that they should avoid applying because they don’t believe they will qualify for any money. We like to encourage everyone to apply,” said May.

Students must submit their free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) on the Web by June 30, 2011. The Financial Aid office recommends that families apply for aid as soon as they have their IRS tax return forms completed.

The financial aid office likes to have the majority of their applications completed at least 45 days prior to term, which helps avoid confusion that can sometimes arise when working close to deadlines.

This year, the FAFSA application has been updated to be a quick and efficient process for anyone applying.
“You can now complete the entire thing in about 20 minutes, which surprises a lot of people,” May said.

UAB receives about 17,000 FAFSA applications and although not all of them end attending the university, the forms still have to be processed.

For more information about qualifying for financial aid, students should visit the office on the third floor of the HUC.
May advises students that now is a great time to investigate what financial aid they may qualify for, and her team is ready and willing to assist them.

Student can also complete the FAFSA application at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Email: emilye@uab.edu