Vaquero Voice - The Rider Newspaper

“Truthfully, financial aid is the only reason I’m able to go to school, and without it I wouldn’t be here. To me it’s an immense value, and I think anyone who can take advantage of it, should. As far as filling it out, it’s really a lot easier than you might think. Most of the information, probably, your parents are going to have it, and whatever they don’t have is probably on record somewhere. … Patience is really the big thing, ’cause it does take time, but if you just sit through it, you’ll get it done in no time.”

Alondra Torres
Estudiante de primer año en administración de negocios

“Financial aid me ha ayudado a muchas cosas. Me ha ayudado a comprar mis libros, comprar mi mochila, lo que necesito para la escuela y para mis estudios. Yo recomiendo que bajen la aplicación de FAFSA en el teléfono. Sale lo que has terminado y lo que no has terminado y te ayuda a terminar tu FAFSA más rápido que en la computadora y es mejor en teléfono”.

“Financial aid has helped me understand the difficulties that are going on in the [Rio Grande] Valley. For me, personally, it’s been able to help me with paying off my classes for the semester. But, definitely, I know that there’s a necessity, or lack thereof, of financial aid and people should be applying for some if they’re serious about a four-year plan. For sure, definitely go contact the [Main] Tower [in Brownsville] and, also be aware of scholarships, opportunities and other things that are available, especially if you’re interested in going for a serious career path.”

“Without financial aid, I wouldn’t be able to attend college. It’s basically paying my whole tuition, so yeah, I’m really grateful for that. My advice is to fill it out as soon as it is out, like, the application so you can get the most amount of money you can. I do it in a quiet room so I can concentrate and make sure everything put in the application was accurate.”