Financial Aid Information!

More from Hui Min Cao:

Personal Finances @ Gtown!

Hopefully most of you have managed your own money at some post during high school. For

those of you who have not, one of the most important aspects of being independent in college is

managing your own funds. Here is some information pertaining to financial aid resources and

financial literacy.

Financial Aid:

The financial aid office is in the basement of Healy. If you have specific questions about your

financial aid package or how to get financial aid in general, you can always go there. If you

have a general question about the financial aid process like how to apply for loans or fill out

a FAFSA, Peer Counselors at the front desk can answer those questions. These students are

nationally certified to help you with this kind of information. For questions, specific to your

individual financial aid package, it is best to talk to your financial aid counselor. They have

access to your specific information can tell you how much “wiggle room” you have in your

aid. Some students may be able to increase their work-study award or apply for more aid to

cover Georgetown University Health Insurance or Alternative Spring Break trips. Though upper

classmen can tell you their experiences in getting more financial aid, keep in mind that it might

not apply to you depending on your specific situation.

GU Peer Counseling: For those of you who are interested in

the financial aid process and would like to learn more about it

while helping others, apply to be a GU Peer Counselor, by

emailing gupeercounseling@gmail.com.

Peer Counselors support and guide Georgetown University’s

newly-admitted and continuing student population by

assisting them with their financial aid goals, from applying for

aid to understanding their financial aid package, through one-on-one counseling, information

sessions, and in-dorm assistance. It has lower hourly commitments than most other clubs on

campus (1 hour per week) and being nationally certified looks impressive on your resume. It is

also a great way of finding out information relevant to your future financial problems like

financial aid for graduate school, etc.

Personal Finances in College: Common $ense (www.gucommonsense.com)

Georgetown provides free financial literacy workshopsthrough Common $ense. These sessions

cover basic financial literacy details like budgeting, credits, taxes, etc. and are also a great way

to get free food, interact with students, meet interesting business professors, and get awesome

prizes. (I know that they are giving away free Nationals Baseball Tickets at the first session and

having Ledo’s pizza. Not to mention that the business professor who’s presenting is known as

the money guy to some because he throws money into the audience for participating!)

If you have any immediate questions, log on to their website (www.gucommonsense.com) and

learn more. Presentations from previous years are still on the website and there are additional

resources such as interactive online Buttonwood modules and

financial literacy games. Don’t forget to register ASAP for the

first workshop on Wednesday, September 14th at 6:15pm in

McShain Lounge!

(If you ever see $100 bills in red square handing out flyers and

candy, you’ll know a financial literacy meeting is coming

soon…No seriously, those of us to help out with the workshops

have to wear geeky money suits to advertise!)

Here is some general information I found useful Freshmen year.

If you have any outside scholarships it will reduce a

combination of your personal contribution, your loans, and your work-study money. Once all

these resources are depleted, your Georgetown scholarship money will be decreased. Note that

scholarship money will not go toward your parent contribution.

If your financial situation changed dramatically since finishing your FAFSA and CSS file,

contact your counselor. You have to fill out additional forms but there is a chance that they will

over you more financial aid money.

Once tax season rolls around, remember that for the lucky ones who receive more financial aid

money than tuition cost, scholarships are taxable.

For those who are ambitious and plan on getting two jobs with the university, only one of

those jobs can be work study. The other must hire non work-study students. Your work study

department is your primary department and your other job must send weekly override forms to

the first so that you can get paid.

If you have any specific questions and would like to talk to another student, please feel free to

contact me. My net id is hmc42.

Updates to Work Study Post

Additional Info and Tips from Hui Min Cao:

Students must bring their the original social security card, passport, or birth certificate with them to college. Georgetown require the original copy in order to hire students.

It is best to get direst deposit for work so it's best to bring a check or open a new bank account.

There is no required maximum hour they can work but the university suggest a maximum of 20. You are pretty much restricted to 40 hours because most departments do not want to pay you more.

You are expected to fill out basic tax and exemption forms when hired, so be familiar with these or let your parents know.

Know which jobs are work study and which are not.

Know your limit. If you think you need to take the first semester off and adjust do so!

Best Study Spots

I know most of you wont be worrying about this until later in the year, but I'm going to go ahead and put this up for y'all so that when you need it (during finals when people start sleeping on their cubicles in Lau to reserve them), it's here.

ON CAMPUS

These locations are quick, close, common. You'll get used to working in almost all of them. Trust me. There are also a number of places not on this list, in addition to your own dorm room. Don't let this list be definitive, and explore for new locations.

Dahlgren Medical Library: The medical library is a perfect place for perfect silence (except for the forlorn cries of some poor orgo students cutting their wrists and writing suicide pacts in some of the back corners). This location is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. So if silence is bliss for you, here's your new haunt.

MSB Breakout Rooms: These rooms are teh shit. Just sayin. A nice long table with plugins, your own whiteboard with markers, nice rolly chairs, a TV...and even tech rooms with more useful gadgets and gizmos. You want to get an MSB breakout room. The only problem is, so does the rest of the world. So when that day comes where you HAVE to get a project done, you can't have any distractions, and you wan somewhere to go...wake up really freaking early and find yourself an MSB room. Located on every floor but the entry floor in the MSB, all along the sides, you can't miss 'em. And I couldn't get my photo to upload, so you get this kitty.

ICC Classrooms: A good standard place to find your own home. Somewhat depressing, since you have class in them. All chalk boards, and they turn off the heat at some point in the night...but quiet and spacious.

St. Mary's: The hideout of math majors, CS majors, and nursing students. A number of large quiet cubicles are sometimes available in the third floor math center, along with computer labs on the first and third floors. The third floor has entrance hour restrictions, however. Also home of math tutoring services (free), and when you can get a classroom to work in, they all have whiteboards.

Theological Center: Another location for those in need of silence, the basement of Lau is a good place to be. Cool, quiet, and filled with (moving!) shelves of foreign language theology books, it's a nice place to study. And no, there are not kitties. I just couldn't find any photos for this one, sorry.

New North Basement: A good place to be alone (when the band isn't practicing!). New North's basement has a number of pianos and whiteboards, along with band lockers. And in the earlier parts of the day, when the band isn't around, it's a great place for brainstorming. On the negative, no where near liquid goodness.

MUG/UG/CommonGrounds: If you need a little musical background noise, constant comments, and access to warm goodness, these coffee locations are the place to be. While I tend to stay near these locations instead of in them, many people seem to thrive in the comfy couched atmosphere. Just don't let yourself get *too* distracted.

Okay. I'm tired of kitties. Deal.

Starbucks: Actually, a pretty quiet spot, with even quieter tables outside of the cafe. Located in the Leavey Center. Advantages include drinks and comfy seats; disadvantages are a lack of whiteboards, some noise, a low number of plugins, and closed hours.

Lau floors, as explained by the kind of people on them:

• Basement: Theological center. I demand silence and being alone. Serious students.
• First: Computer Lab. I need a fancy device for my fancy project. Art students.
• Second: Talking floor. I need to talk and feel solidarity with my similarly screwed Hoyas/get absolutely nothing done. Or I just want quick access to coffee and can handle the constant noise of Lau2. Some studiers, a lot of Joe and Jane Hoyas.
• Three: computers, pierce *silent* reading room, a few hard to get tables. "I got a table! I got a table!" "SHUT UP." Serious students.
• Four: some cubicles, some tables, quiet nooks. Quiet, but not too quiet. Serious students; Joe and Janes who realized they really are screwed if they don't do something.
• Five: some tables, some cubicles. Refuge of the silent. If you speak again, I will kill you with this pen. Dangerously screwed students and OCD style quiet people.

Leos: Best place to study, hands down. Noisy during regular meal times, otherwise quiet. "Free" food/drinks (coffee, for those of you who need it). See my post on eating at leos for more leos studying tips.

Carbarn Floor Two: I haven't been here. But I'm told it's a good place to go. Check it out.

Epicurean: Good place for group discussions, where you can talk, use a table, write, eat, and not have to yell to be heard or annoy anyone else. Advantages include nice tables, a good talking atmosphere, and food. Disadvantages include the long walk, difficulty in getting a good window table, and the cost.

Front Lawn / Leavey Esplanade: If you have to go outside, then sit and read in the sun! When the front lawn gets too busy, the Leavey esplanade (grass and trees on the roof!) is a good place to study and enjoy the sunshine.

Yates: Yates can be a good place to study and work out at the same time. Biking or even running while reading is possible, and I've always found recording language vocab on my ipod, and playing it in between tracks, is the way to study at yates.

OFF CAMPUS

There's something about going off campus that helps me focus. Maybe it's getting away from the other hoyas freaking out over finals, maybe it's the peace of cafes, or maybe it's just because it's a unique experience from Lau, but I like going out into the world to study. Be adventurous, try new locations not on this list. But here's some to get you started:

Georgetown Public Library: Quiet study rooms you can sign up for, books that real people read, nice tables, air conditioning, plug ins, access to a number of restaurants to eat in. Disadvantages include occasional noisy kids and limited space.

National Portrait Gallery Courtyard:

Saxby's/Barnes & Noble: Good off campus coffee haunts. Pretty standard. Disadvantages include no plugins at B&N and some people have trouble with the wifi at Saxbys.

Safeway Starbucks: 24 Hour starbucks. The one, the only.

Shanghai Teahouse/Shanghai Lounge/ Harmony: Chinese food restaurants that don't mind you hanging around. Good place to catch up on a little reading while enjoying bubble tea (ST/SL only). The tables are bigger and the food is cheaper at Harmony, which is also closer to GU. But the food is more authentic at the too farther-off locations.

Marvelous Market: Free wifi, I hear. On Wisconsin.