On the assist: SU Office of Financial Aid more in tune with FAFSA

Partnered with Louisiana Education Loan Authority (LELA), the Office of Financial Aid has been able to assist high school seniors with the completion of their FAFSA during this school year.
The emphasis on getting help for students in the completion of their FAFSA became ever more important when the Louisiana Board of Regents made FAFSA completion mandatory for all high school seniors looking to graduate and receive their diploma.
Similarly, LELA has organized a FAFSA completion guide to give to the high schoolers tips and details on how to keep up with their FSA I.D., as well as their Save Key. Once the FAFSA is completed, LELA also offers scholarship opportunities to the students where they can win up to $1,000 in scholarship money through a monthly drawing where two students will be chosen from the individual schools.
Another issue with completing their FAFSA that many students have noted to be a problem is when they call the Help Desk on the FAFSA website. Not only will LELA help with your FAFSA completion, but if there is anything that the Help Desk would be needed for, LELA officials will also be available to help you navigate conversation with the Help Desk.
“I think it makes the whole college process seem a lot less intimidating. Filling out your FAFSA can be confusing for someone who’s never had to do it before especially if the parents didn’t go to college,” said Oriana Broussard, a senior political science major from Carencro, Louisiana.
Speaking with Sharmaine Lazard-Talbert, Scholarship Coordinator in Southern University’s Office of Financial Aid, she spoke briefly on some of the things she stresses to the high school students she speaks to through LELA.
“Normally, when you complete the FAFSA, it’ll tell you to contact the school. But also, students receive a Student Aid Report.” said Talbert. The Student Aid Report contains numerous pieces of information such as completed forms, as well as comments highlighting what steps come next in regards to you receiving your Financial Aid package.
Whenever a change is made to your FAFSA, that change is documented on your Student Aid Report and can be seen immediately by the student. After your FAFSA is completed, Talbert emphasized the importance of keeping track of the content of the students individual student aid reports.
“It’s a great opportunity for high school students to have that transparent, one-on-one conversation with someone who actually knows how the Financial Aid process works.” said Talbert when asked her thoughts on the importance of what the Office of Financial Aid’s partnership with LELA means for future college students.