NMC officials urge students to avail of fed financial aid
Officials at the Northern Marianas College are encouraging students, particularly part-time students who were affected by the scholarship cuts, to avail of various federally-funded programs designed to help them continue their studies.
However, NMC Development and Alumni Relations Director Tony V. Deleon Guerrero and Director of Office of Admissions, Records and Financial Aid Janice Tenorio, lamented that very few of the students have applied for the various programs available at the college.
They cited that PELL grant awards processed by the college have only reached $835,565 while there are pending grants still to be awarded before the next school year.
This figure, they said, are low compared to some $1.4 million in financial aid extended to students under PELL and the Education Assistance Program in 1999, excluding the Spring and Summer semesters.
“When CNMI part-time students from NMC were denied assistance by the Scholarship Office, we tried to help them by making them apply under NMC grants,” said Mr. Deleon Guerrero.
The college still encourages students to avail of the financial aids, citing an easier and more convenient way to file applications through the Internet.
“We encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity by applying online,” said Ms. Tenorio.
The college has developed a means of assisting students secure study grants, scholarships, and loans through computers at the campus laboratory, Career Center, or the library.
“[T]here they can find all kinds of financial aids. They just have to be aggressive in going about it and filling out the forms. If they can apply for everything, then all the better,” she added.
Over the last two academic years, the college has served an estimated 4,743 scholars through PELL and EAP grants alone.
To qualify for these grants, one must be admitted to NMC as a regular or part-time student for the purpose of earning a certificate or degree.
One must also have a verified financial need, must maintain a good academic standing, and a U.S. citizen.
The PELL and EAP grants are only two of several other financial aid programs from the US Federal government offered to eligible NMC applicants.
The college also assists students in applying for the Federal Work-Study grant, the Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship, the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program, the Robert C. Byrd Scholarships, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, the Harry S. Truman Scholarships, and the Agricultural Development in the American Pacific Program. (MM)
