Stimulus Plan gives students more chances at scholarships, grants
By Luis MontesSpanish Editor, The VOICE
As the spring 2009 semester comes to an end, students at GCC are looking for many different ways to pay for tuition. It is estimated that Arizona students pay an average of $4,076 in tuition per year. How do students come up with that amount of money? Scholarships are one of the most popular ways to pay for tuition among students.
Frances Mateo, the GCC scholarships coordinator, explains that there are many scholarships out there. Most of the scholarships are independently funded. Major corporations such as Wal Mart and Tylenol sponsor these scholarships so that students can take advantage of them. "Scholarships are very different from financial aid, it is two different programs. Financial aid is all federal mandated and scholarships are all given to us by donors," said Mateo.
GCC received over 2.1 million dollars in scholarships for the 2009-2010 year according to Mateo. She is committed on helping students obtain a little piece of the pie that scholarships have to offer. "I help them navigate and search for scholarships," says Mateo when asked about her main role as a scholarship coordinator at GCC.
Mateo also adds that she is in charge of helping students fill up their scholarship applications. Mateo helps students give the best impression when answering their essay questions. Scholarship application reviewers want the most sincere and honest answer from students and Mateo is there to help them in the submission process.
For the first time this year, scholarship applications are now transmitted though the new online system. It seems to be easier for students to fill up an online application rather than a paper one. Mateo urges students to go to: http://www.gccaz.edu/finaid/9668.htm and find out more about the different array of scholarship opportunities available. If you have any questions, call Frances Mateo for more information: (623) 845-3147
Please send comment to lmontes@gccvoice.com
