Financial aid gives $50 million yearly

More than 50 percent of students received financial aid last year, according to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Each year, JMU gives away over $50 million in scholarships and loans.

Fourteen percent of the JMU students offered financial aid come from households with an adjusted gross income of less than $25,000. Thirty-five percent of students offered aid come from a household with an AGI between $25,000 and $75,000, and 51 percent are from households with an AGI greater than $75,000, according to Brad Barnett, senior associate director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

AGI is calculated based on a number of factors including income, how many people live in a household, the age of the parents and in which state the student resides.

The most important step in receiving any sort of aid is filing the free application for Federal Student Aid form by March 1. Filing by this date enables the federal government to decide how much grant and loan money a student is eligible for, and it also affects entry into the work-study program.

The Financial Aid office also helps students learn how to manage their money. "A large part of our mission is to educate," said Bryan DeYoung, senior financial aid counselor.

There is a common misconception that people that qualify for work-study programs can only get jobs within that program while they actually have all the opportunities other students have plus work study jobs available to them," said Linda Miller, student employment manager. JMU also offers services that enable students to find jobs off campus. Both the offices on the third floor of Warren Hall or the Web site, www.jmu.edu/stuemploy offer information regarding on- and off-campus student employment.