TAMIU Financial Aid To Offer Electronic Processing July 18

The Texas A&M International University Office of Financial Aid will offer a free service Thursday, July 18 which will allow students to have their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) processed and transmitted electronically.

The free service, "FAFSA Express," is being offered to TAMIU through the sponsorship of First Commercial Bank, Seguin. It is the first time the service has been offered in Laredo and will be available for one day only.

Students who have not submitted their FAFSA and will attend TAMIU or any other college or university in 1996-97 may schedule an appointment to use FAFSA Express by calling the TAMIU Office of Financial Aid at 326-2225, or by visiting offices located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library-Administration Building Room 155 West.

Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment in order to ensure an opportunity to use the FAFSA Express. Walk-ins will be accepted only as scheduling permits.

The FAFSA Express process automatically edits applicant data before transmitting, resulting in better data and fewer application rejection by the Central Processor. The FAFSA Express process also reduces the waiting period by about two weeks.

In order to use the FAFSA Express, a student must provide a copy of their completed Federal Student Aid application or provide all the information required for completing the Federal Student Aid application. Federal Student Aid applications are available at the TAMIU Office of Financial Aid.

Araceli S. Rangel, Director of Financial Aid at TAMIU, said students who do not complete their FAFSA applications prior to using the FAFSA Express should bring their 1995 tax returns or their parents' tax returns with them since the information on the returns is required for processing.

"It is very important that students have all of the required information with them because the FAFSA cannot be transmitted if data is missing. Any termination of data entry terminates the whole process and deletes the record," she explained.

Before the FAFSA data is transmitted, the student will review the data and will be provided with a copy of the information. All applicants will be required to sign a waiver and assumption of risk. The FAFSA will then be transmitted directly to the Central Processor.

After transmission of the FAFSA, students will be provided with a pre-addressed envelope for a signature page which must be signed and mailed directly to the Central Processor.

Students should receive their Student Aid Report (SAR) in about two weeks.

For more information on the free FAFSA Express service available at TAMIU July 18, call the University's Office of Financial Aid at 326-2225 or visit offices in Killam Library-Administration Building Room 155 West. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Additional information on the University may also be secured by email at enroll@tamiu.edu or by visiting TAMIU's Home Page, http://www.tamiu.edu.