Scholarships such as the General Scholarship, Edison Green Jobs Technology Scholarship and Osher Scholarship have been present to supply students with the funds to support their education.

For instance, The General Scholarship requires a student to apply through their application, and provide letters of recommendation from credible sources for them to be automatically eligible for it.

More information on these scholarships can be obtained from the administration office.

There are major differences between the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and the General Scholarship application.

Psychology major Milagros Escalante explains some troubles with the application, “It [ the FAFSA application] a lot of information, including parent’s information. Which appears to be a great hassle.

FAFSA helps many students with large funds, but it is not the only source offering students help.

There are many more scholarships out there for everyone to apply for, ensuring they have the funds necessary, and increasing the chances on receiving them on the required time to continue their education successfully.

Scholarships are waiting for more students to take advantage of them.

College has become a financial burden for many students due to high costs.

Tuition, books and fees have discouraged many from even attempting higher education.

Business major Alice Zamora explained what would happened if she didn’t recieve her financal aid.

“It would mean I could not pick the classes I wanted,”she said.

She continued, “I would possibly have to take a full time job to pay for education in the future. It is a sure thing I would not be attending school without financial aid.”

Fortunately, students have financial aid to “relieve” that burden.

The FAFSA has been helping thousands of students by paying off their tuition and supplying them with the money required to buy their books, supplies and to help them manage with any other personal finances.

Students like Cristina Bernal, who is currently undecided about her major, proves that FAFSA is a great source of help as she stated, “I got the money the first day of the semester for both semesters this year.”

Although, many find issues during, and after the application.

The downside is that not everyone receives this money on a timely manor.

Many, unlike Bernal, find themselves waiting well over a month for them to receive the funds to support their education.

“It took forever,” Bernal explained.

She continued with, “It took about 3 months before my information was fully processed.”

Her Cerritos Falcon Card, which is a way the FAFSA money is distributed, did not reach her in time, so she had to pay with her parents’ money.

Even though the federal grant automatically pays off tuition after the application has been fully processed, the rest of the money, which would have paid for the books and supplies necessary for their courses, may still not reach other students on time.

Zamora pointed out, “The grant was automatic because when I signed in for my classes, it paid them.”

Architecture major, Jose Rojas said, “Getting the classes is one of the issues.”

He described that seven days after picking the courses is not enough time to be the classes without them being picked first by others, “The problem is the paper work, and having to come back and fourth.”

He then reassured, “They always give you due dates, which have to be respected.”

Unfortunately, these due dates keep the money from the students paying off their tuition, as well as their books, if their financial aid does not process in time.

Rojas went on saying, “There are other ways to get the books, such as pirate bay,” clearly stating that this can lead to other problems such as piracy.

FAFSA may not reach the students in a convenient time, but it is free money.