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ANU Strives for Excellence in Financial Aid Amid National Uncertainties
For new college students, financial aid is crucial in order to succeed. New research findings have found that some schools are giving students unclear presentations about the total cost of their education and what financial aid covers. At American National University, however, we present every option to our students so that they have all the information they need in order to earn their education. Not only that, but our students have multiple opportunities to sit with our financial services team to ensure that they know the ins and outs of what they have to pay for on their journey to their education. In a time where many students are struggling with loans, incorrect information, and unhelpful advisors, ANU sets a high standard of excellence with comprehensive financial aid statements and attentive and approachable staff.
Vice President of ANU’s Financial Aid Services, Beth Overbey, and her team wish to help every student earn their education through mapping out the steps they financially need to take in order to start. “The financial services team meets with every student who is interested [in enrolling] and we review their financial assistance eligibility and availability of funding,” Beth describes. “We traditionally have two appointments with each student. In [the first] meeting, we talk about how the student expects to fund their education, like if they have outside resources, savings, tuition assistance, or only wish to use federal financial aid. Once we gather all of this information, we provide the students with the next steps: what they need to do to prepare for our next (enrolling) meeting, if they need to complete the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA), reach out to their employer to complete documents, provide us their agency counselor/manager, etc.”
Beth describes that in the second appointment, after compiling all the information they need from the first appointment, they explain the entirety of the students funding options from their first day all the way through to graduation. They go step by step so that students will have the full picture of what they should expect financially throughout their entire time at ANU. There is no false information, there are no hidden fees, there is nothing that financial aid will hide from those looking to enroll at ANU. They don’t just go over direct costs, like tuition, but also indirect costs outside of university billings, like living expenses, daycare costs, school supplies, etc. Our students not only get an all-inclusive tuition cost laid out for them, but they also get the chance to go over how this will affect their personal costs with our financial aid team.
“Once the student’s funds are set to be approved, after a quality assurance check, we provide the student with their final award letter. In this letter, we list everything for their first academic year (first three terms) just in case they have forgotten the items we discussed. In this final award letter, we breakdown the direct and indirect cost again.” Beth explains. ANU students will continue to receive final aware letters for each academic year they are enrolled at our institution so that they continue to stay within the loop of what their education costs.
Though many schools have awarded false information to their students, ANU does things differently so that our students are well-informed before they make the commitment to their education. “We pay close attention to the student’s needs, questions, and concerns. We take pride in our appointments, and we want to make sure the student has a clear understanding of the full process,” Beth remarks. Our financial aid staff are dedicated to providing counseling to all those who wish to attend ANU. To learn more about our programs, financial aid services, or admissions services, go to an.edu.
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