Understanding Financial Aid
The financial aid office can be found in the SSC building in room SSC 106. Lizeth Tello | Lariat
New workshops from the financial aid office are now available to students who would like more help and options
The financial aid office is now offering new workshops for Saddleback students to further aid them with their financial aid troubles. “Understanding SAP” workshops will be held monthly and the Zoom Q&As will take place every other Tuesday through Zoom.
“Understanding SAP” is a workshop that will help explain to students what Satisfactory Academic Progress is. SAP is important for financial aid eligibility and can negatively or positively affect a student’s status, depending on whether certain goals are met or failed.
During the workshop, a presentation on SAP will be presented by Katelynn Cope, a financial aid specialist at Saddleback College, who will go into great detail about the subject. Attendees will learn about the three different types of SAP that a student can be flagged for, learn about the SAP appeal process and get any remaining questions answered.
The financial aid office is looking to host them every month and some meetings might take place in between semesters. The amount of workshops per semester will depend on staff availability.
“We’re kind of gauging it as we go cause it’s the first time we’ve ever done these, so we’re hoping to but we’re not sure quite yet,” Cope said. “It depends on the availability of staff, so I’m hoping that we continue them.”
The first “Understanding SAP” workshop took place on Thursday, Feb. 24. The second will be on Mar. 28 from 4 to 5 p.m. The remaining three will take place on Apr. 26, May 25 and July 12 from 5 to 6 p.m.
The Financial Aid Tuesday Zoom Q&A is also now open to students every other Tuesday. The first Q&A was on Feb. 8 and will continue to be offered until Jun. 28 from 5 to 6 p.m.
Students who attend will be able to have either a group or one-on-one session with a financial aid specialist to ask general questions or seek application help.
More workshops might be offered in the future. It will all depend on how successful the current ones turn out to be.
“The ones that are posted on our website are what we have scheduled so far,” Cope said. “Just due to the fact that—I know, probably about the first couple weeks of this upcoming Fall cause that’s usually our busiest time of the year for processing, but probably a few weeks after the start of term and Fall, we’ll probably do the next set.”
For anyone with financial aid questions, students can contact the financial aid office through their main phone line at (949)-582-4860 or through email at [email protected]. In-person assistance is also available at SSC 106 from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays.
Updated April 27 at 12:13 p.m. to fix format errors
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