QUINCY, MA–(Marketwire – January 7, 2008) – As the New Year begins, the Student Loan Network is urging all college or college-bound students to file their 2008-2009 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, to qualify for the maximum amount of federal financial aid. To help families with this task, the Student Loan Network has updated its site, www.FAFSAOnline.com, with tips and hints, including a free eBook, to help students complete the form. “The FAFSA is the single most important financial aid form a student can complete, yet an astonishing 41% of all students never file it,” says Christopher S. Penn, producer of the Financial Aid Podcast. “According to the American Council on Education, as many as 1.5 million students were eligible to receive free money from the government last year in the form of the Pell Grant, if only they had filed a FAFSA form. Completing the FAFSA is essential for anyone going to college, and there’s a ton of great advice and help available at FAFSAOnline.com, from eBooks to line-by-line tutorials.”

FAFSAOnline.com offers hints for maximizing eligibility and a free FAFSA Guide eBook– all in an effort to make sure students take advantage of as much federal financial aid as possible. One of the many hints published at FAFSAOnline.comincludes an admonition for students to file as early as possible after January 1 of each calendar year. “Financial aid from the government is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. If two needy students apply, one in February and one in June, even if the student who applies in June is more needy, they won’t necessarily get as much aid as the student who applied in February. As soon as you’re able to complete your taxes for the previous year, you should file your FAFSA,” said Mr. Penn. Students and their families should visit www.FAFSAOnline.comto get started.

The Student Loan Network, an Edvisors company, is one of the nation’s fastest growing providers of student loans and related information. Since 1998 we have connected 25 million students and parents with over $1 billion in scholarships, grants and federal, private and consolidation loan funding. To help make the confusing and stressful financial aid process easier, the Student Loan Network also delivers helpful information, including the award-winning Financial Aid Podcast, a multitude of financial aid-related blogs and the monthly Financial Aid Newsletter. Learn more about the Student Loan Network at http://www.StudentLoanNetwork.com.

Contact Christopher S. Penn at management@edvisors.com

###

Return to Edvisors/ Student Loan Network News