Say Hello to Financial Aid

When was the last time you visited your Financial Aid office? After a quick poll of some students at Gulf Coast the most common answers I received to this question were “never” or “I can’t remember.” Many students are simply uninformed about the Financial Aid office or intimidated by going to someone for help. A few of the students I questioned were not even sure where the Financial Aid office at Gulf Coast State College is located. In case you also fall into this group of people, the Financial Aid office is located in the Enrollment Services building, right between the library and the Administration Building. The Financial Aid office and its staff are there to support students and their families. Visiting the Financial Aid office has come to have slightly negative connotations, however, there is no reason for this, and everyone should visit the Financial Aid office at least once during their college career.

The mission statement of the Gulf Coast Financial Aid office is as follows, “The Financial Aid office at Gulf Coast State College serves students by providing information and access to financial aid programs. We are committed to high-quality customer service and continually strive to improve the accurate processing of financial aid to students in a fair, consistent, and efficient manner.” The Financial Aid staff truly tries to live by this statement and are all committed to helping students in the best way they can. The Director of the Financial Aid office is Kristopher Hatcher. He provided me with the official description for his position from the Human Resources department which states, “This position oversees the administration of federal, state, and institutional financial assistance programs and ensures compliance with all appropriate regulations. The Director provides leadership and supervision to the financial aid staff with good customer service and regulation compliance as foundations. This person must regularly coordinate with other campus departments and serve on various committees.” Hatcher was excited and honored to help me with this project to spread the word about the importance of Financial Aid. When asked if there were any tips for Financial Aid he would the general student body, he responded by saying,

As stated before some student never visited the Financial Aid office, sometimes this is because they believe they would not be eligible for any kind of aid. However, the staff has a deep understanding of financial aid resources, and are able to find some form of aid for most students. It is always worth trying to find a little extra support from financial aid. Even when you are awarded a type of financial aid, the awards can be quite confusing. Sometimes they come with expectations of the recipient that may not be abundantly clear. Talking over all of the details of your award is the best way to take full advantage of your award.

So if you haven’t visited your Financial Aid office recently make sure to make an appointment soon to see how they can help your college experience.

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