Time to think about financial aid....again

Many families need assistance to pay for a college education.  Luckily, there are many sources which can be a part of your total family financial plan.  Please follow these steps to ensure your student receives the best award for which they are eligible.

File the FAFSA 
To get started, find both the parents’ and student’s PIN. If you forgot your PIN, you can get it again at www.pin.ed.gov. File the FAFSA electronically at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Make sure to include St. Bonaventure’s school code: 002817. If applying for aid for the fall 2012, use 2012-13 as the academic year for the FAFSA and submit 2011 income information on the FAFSA. The deadline for St. Bonaventure University returning students to file the FAFSA is April 1, 2012.  There is an option when filing the FAFSA online to electronically retrieve your IRS tax data.  This will streamline the process and save you from being selected for verification.

After you successfully file the FAFSA, watch for a Student Aid Report (SAR). Review the SAR and make corrections if necessary. If you are selected for verification, the SBU Office of Financial Aid will notify you regarding specific documentation you must submit (usually income verification, tax transcripts, W2s, verification of family size). Reply to this verification request as quickly as possible. The student’s financial aid is considered tentative pending the completion of verification. New York state residents attending a New York State school will be directed to the New York State Higher Education Services website to complete the application for the TAP Grant through TAP-on-the-web using a PIN.

Investigate other sources of financial aid 
Private scholarships can be a source of additional funding for some families. Many families find they need to borrow to supplement the student’s financial aid package. If you decide to borrow, we recommend you exhaust all federal loan options (Federal Direct, Perkins and PLUS loans) before seeking private or alternative loans in the student’s name. Federal loans have the best terms and rates available.

The SBU Business Office also offers plans which enable you to pay your balance in monthly installments. You will receive specific information about payment plans in a separate mailing from the Business Office. Questions can be directed to the Business Office at (716) 375-2100.

Financial aid from SBU
Your student should watch for a financial aid package by late June. Academic awards are renewed at the same amount each year provided the student maintains the minimum cumulative GPA required for the award. Need-based aid will stay relatively the same as in prior years provided the family financial situation is relatively the same and federal funding levels remain constant. In all cases, the student must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress toward his/her degree in order to renew financial aid. Returning students receive notification of the financial aid award via their SBU e-mail account. They should review the financial aid award on our secure intranet at my.sbu.edu, where they must accept or decline their awards. Please remind your student to watch his/her SBU e-mail account for financial aid and other SBU notices over the summer.

For further information about financial aid at St. Bonaventure, please see our website at www.sbu.edu.

Application Tips: 
1. File the FAFSA as early as possible. Estimate information if necessary. Watch for the Student Aid Report.
2. NYS residents attending a NYS school, complete the TAP-on-the web as early as possible.
3. Keep copies of all application materials. 
4. Follow up to make sure everything is received. 
5. Pay attention to application and billing deadlines. 
6. Respond as soon as possible to requests for additional information. 
7. Seek out additional “free” sources of aid through private, state, and federal organizations. 
8. If you need to borrow, exhaust federal loan sources first.

Dear St. Bonaventure University Parents,

I am writing this letter to inform you of a recently approved decision by Allegany Rescue and EMS Inc. to begin medical insurance company billing for emergency transports and services effective January 1, 2012. For many years these services were offered free of charge to local citizens and St. Bonaventure students. However, as a result of numerous financial challenges to include aging equipment, gasoline cost increases and training certification costs this organization has had to change its policies. While we are disappointed that this change was deemed necessary, we are also extremely grateful for the professional and comprehensive services provided by this group of volunteer citizens. 

If you have any general  questions regarding this policy change please feel free to contact Allegany Rescue and EMS Inc. at alleganyrescueems@gmail.com. Specific questions regarding medical billing and procedures should be directed to Professional Ambulance Billing, LLC, at 716-204-3350.

Sincerely,

Richard C. Trietley Jr.
Vice Provost for Student Life

Housing for sophomores

Midterm exams and Midterm Break are now complete.  As your student begins her second half of the semester, you may be wondering, “Where is my student going to live next year?”  Believe it or not, the housing process for the 2012-2013 school year has already begun.

Right now, almost all freshmen live in traditional-style housing with a double bedroom with restroom facilities on each wing of a floor.  For next year, however, your student has a variety of housing options.  Chris Brown, coordinator of residential education and housing, offers freshman parents advice if your student comes to you and asks what he should do about housing for next year.

Brown’s biggest piece of advice for parents is make sure you and your student are aware of all the deadlines.

The first deadline is this week.  A $150 housing deposit is due on Friday, March 16, to secure a student’s spot in the 2012-2013 housing lottery process; this deposit is credited towards the Fall 2012 tuition bill.

Then, Brown said, each student needs to make sure she takes every step possible to improve her standing in the lottery process.

The most important part of the housing lottery process for students is to find ways to reduce their random lottery score.  The lower the final lottery score number number, the better chance a student has at getting her first choice of where she wants to live next year.  The random lottery number can be lowered in a number of ways. Deductions are given for the number of credits a student has completed and having a good GPA.

After each student receives her final lottery score, Brown said the student should finalize her plans for where she wants to live.  Next year, your student could continue to live in a traditional-style residence hall in Devereux or Doyle Hall. Suite-style living is available in Shay Hall, which is four-person, two bedroom suites with shared bathrooms.  A limited number of apartments are available in the Garden Apartments for sophomores. Those units are six-person, three-bedroom apartments. Single rooms are also available in Francis and Devereux Halls.

Brown said each student should also have a backup plan in case his original plan does not work out. That is especially true if your student wants to live in the Garden Apartments, since sophomore space there is limited.

The end of the housing process takes place when a student goes to a housing selection night. Housing selection nights take place between March 29 and April 2, so before Easter Break she most likely will know where she will be living next year.

Before housing selection nights, each one of the freshmen will also have the opportunity to attend different meetings sponsored by Residence Life so she can learn more about all of the housing options available next year.  Brown said students can also talk with their residence assistants or residence directors if they have additional questions. 

The bottom line, Brown said, is that parents should ask their student, “What living environment will set you up for the most success?” Because sometimes the most obvious answer is not always the best one.

-Robbie Chulick
Class of 2013

Pilot of SI aims to assist students in difficult courses 

With college come harder classes and larger workloads. Students at St. Bonaventure University have long had the option to get a tutor through the Teaching and Learning Center. This year, they also have the option of the newly implemented Supplemented Instruction (SI) program.

SI uses peer assisted study sessions and collaborative learning to review material from the previous class session. The sessions are meant to be interactive. SI is available in traditionally difficult courses and is available to every student enrolled in the course in which SI is offered.

For this pilot version of SI, started by the Student Success and Retention Committee this spring, SBU is offering sessions for sections of classes in chemistry, math, psychology and education.  And though it may be new to SBU, SI is successfully used at other colleges around the country.

"We didn’t invent the wheel here,” said Ann Lehman, Registrar and Director of Institutional Research, who teaches statistics.

Meera Babu, a sophomore biology major, is one of the SI Leaders ready to help students. She was chosen based on her own experience and success in the course with which she assists.

“SI has been nationally proven to be successful because it involves students in the learning,” Meera said. “I'm assuming it is effective because students who come to SI are telling me that I gave them helpful hints!”

With Meera’s sessions focused on statistics, Lehman’s statistics students have the chance to clear things up outside the normal class time.

Meera is learning along with the students with whom she interacts.

“I'm picking up hints, tips and connections I was not aware of when I was taking the course,” she said.

It’s entirely voluntary, but a student who participates in the sessions may score higher than his peers who did not participate.

“That’s one of benefits of a program like this – a student can seek the additional support whenever they need additional help,” Lehman said. “It’s used on many campuses for exactly the reasons we’re doing it: To help students be more successful.”

-Emily Steves
Class of 2015

Sophomore registration 

Time flies when your student is a freshman. One of the more stressful things — if she is not prepared for it — is sophomore registration.

Sophomore registration will take place on March 28 and 29. Before registering, students must meet with their advisers to be cleared for registration, and to guarantee the proper classes will be taken next semester. If a hold is placed on your student’s account for any reason, he will not be allowed to register. That information is available through my.sbu.edu or through the student’s adviser.

Advisers usually schedule appointments online or put sign-up sheets on their office doors a couple of weeks before registration. Encourage your student to sign up for an appointment as soon as he can, then make sure he makes a note of the appointment on his favorite calendar.

Associate Registrar Julie Rodriguez said, “Students should make a list of what courses they would like to take and a back-up list because sophomores register last and some classes fill up quickly.”

One of the most important things to remind your student is that she should never wait until the last minute to start preparing to register for classes. Not only will she be stressed, but she may have trouble getting an appointment with her adviser. You can remind your student that the best way to prepare for registration is to go to my.sbu.edu and look up her degree audit, which states what courses she has taken and what courses she still needs.

Carole McNall, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication and an adviser, recommends starting the registration process as soon as the next semester schedule is posted on my.sbu.edu; both summer school and fall offerings currently are displayed.

“One of the biggest problems freshmen have is the amount of choice they have in courses. Unlike the upperclassmen, freshmen have a much more open schedule and this can become very confusing,” said McNall.

Associate Registrar Julie Rodriguez said, “Students should make a list of what courses they would like to take and a back-up list because sophomores register last and some classes fill up quickly.”

“I’ve already started doing my research for registration,” said freshman Amrita Maniram.

-Cristabell Ramdial
Class of 2013