This school year, students have been seeking financial aid””both loans and grants””more than they have in the past.

The number of Fresno State students to receive financial aid so far has reached an all-time high, said Bernie Ogden, the university’s financial aid director.

As of Sept. 12, financial aid has been awarded to 17,286 students, Ogden said.

In 2011, the university’s enrollment totaled 21,981 students, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

“That’s enormous. It’s gigantic,” he said.

Ogden said the number of applicants and recipients of financial aid has steadily increased in recent years. Part of that steady increase could be due to the increase in tuition, which for the fall 2012 semester was set at $3,419.50 for full-time undergraduates. That figure could rise another $150 should Proposition 30 not pass.

The current maximum amount to be awarded to a recipient of a Pell Grant””money provided by the U.S. federal government to students in financial need””is $5,550 a year ($2,775 per semester).

“As costs rise, students need more resources .to meet those costs,” Ogden said. “I do think it makes sense that the number of applicants has increased because tuition has increased. People who would not have applied in prior years are now applying because the cost has gotten beyond what they can just write out a check for.”

“That’s why we encourage people to file earlier because the earlier we have them, the longer we have to work the files.”

The filing process

Fresno State’s priority deadline for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was March 2. The recommended deadline to submit the necessary documents to the university was June 29, Ogden said, though applications are still being received and processed.

Out of the total number of financial aid applications that are processed, roughly 40 percent are randomly selected to undergo a verification process. This includes checking for accuracy, and making sure that information on student-sent documents coincides with information filled out on FAFSA forms.

About 95 percent of the files selected for random verification need to have corrections made, Ogden said.

As of Sept. 24, the financial aid office had over 700 verification files left to process. There is a possibility that the number of students receiving a form of financial assistance this year could well eclipse the 18,000 mark, Ogden said.

The financial aid office is comprised of 21 people on staff responsible for processing files and applications.

“Unfortunately in financial aid, because of the volume and the staffing, it takes four””probably to six weeks””sometimes to process a file just because of the volume of applicants and the number of people we have,” Ogden said.

The financial aid office advocates that students take precautionary measures to ensure they receive their financial aid on time. This includes meeting requested deadlines and consistently checking for any errors that may occur in the documentation process.

“I think the biggest thing students can do is file early and then follow through and make sure that everything that they need to submit has been submitted,” Ogden said.

“For instance””we see this happen a lot””we have five forms that we need from a student. And they’ll turn in four. We can’t work the file really until all the documents are in. If the student turns in the five documents and they see on their portal that one of those to-do list items is still open they should come and check with us.

“We can check and make sure that we didn’t misfile it.”

Deferred students face looming deadline

For students like junior accounting major Erik Nunez, the long, tedious process for acquiring financial assistance has not been met without criticism.

Nunez, who said he met both the March 2 and June 29 deadline, faced complications with his submitted form.

“They have to simplify,” Nunez said. “They get the point across with deadlines, but still, they don’t tell you how. Sometimes the forms themselves are a little ambiguous.”

Nunez, who was dropped from his classes after the July 27 priority registration deadline because he did not have a fee deferment, remains in the process of acquiring the financial aid he is eligible for.

“When you process the volume that we process”” I’m not saying we’re perfect and we get it right every time”” but if the student follows up, we will correct it,” Ogden said.

For students who had a fall semester fee deferment, the final deadline to pay any outstanding fees is Oct. 3. Students are subject to being dropped from all classes for any fees not paid after that date.

“We would encourage (students) at this point to go and pay for their classes,” Ogden said. “We would continue to process their aid. When we finalize their file, if they’ve already paid their classes, it doesn’t impact the aid they would qualify for.”

For students like Nunez, who are still trying to resolve issues in the financial aid process, the question is not if they will receive any financial assistance, but rather when.

“I’m married. I have a daughter and a family to take care of, and on top of this I come to school. I’m striving to succeed but sometimes barriers like this drive me nuts,” Nunez said.

“It doesn’t worry me that I might not have it for Oct. 3, because if by the 2nd I don’t have it, I’m going to personally pay for it out of my pocket. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do to pay for rent and pay for food and stuff.”

It is federal law that financial aid be dispersed no sooner than 10 days before the first day of school.

Students eligible for Pell Grants can still turn in forms to be processed and receive that financial aid regardless of whether or not said students paid for tuition fees out of pocket.

All the money from the state university grant””about $39 million this year””has already been dispersed to students this year.

Financial aid will continue to be awarded and dispersed today.