Priority deadline for aid Feb. 14

Feb. 14 is the mailing deadline to ensure that applications meet the university's financial aid priority service date of March 1.

Students who miss the deadline will be ineligible for work-study programs and certain grants. The only forms of aid left are government loans and Pell grants, said Phyllis Bolt Bannister, director of Student Financial Aid.

"Missing the deadline puts students at a distinct disadvantage," she said.

During the 1995-96 academic year, the University of Arizona funneled $191 million in financial aid to about 24,000 students in the forms of grants, scholarships, fee waivers, employment and loans, Bannister said.

Students who have questions regarding their financial aid applications can make an appointment with an adviser in the Office of Student Financial Aid. Students can also use the financial aid service windows for quick questions.

Students using the windows "should think through their questions and know what they are," Bannister said. "The questions should involve only three or four issues regarding the applications."

For a free scholarship search students can access Fund Finder, a computer program that helps narrow down students' scholarship opportunities.

Fund Finder is located outside the door of the Scholarship Office on the second floor of Old Main.

Fund Finder will provide an opportunity for students to minimize efforts in locating scholarship money, said John Nametz, associate director of Student Financial Aid.