Welcome back to our POWERCAT FINANCIAL weekly blog posts!
As we begin the second week of classes and some of the craziness and feeling of being overwhelmed hopefully dies down, I thought now is a great time to share a quick reminder and differentiate the Office of Student Financial Assistance, Cashiers, and Powercat Financial to make it easier to understand who to meet with for what. I also included some insider tips to help you be successful.
First, remember it is okay and even encouraged for you to ask for help. Realizing you need help and asking for it is difficult and when finances are added to the mix, it can make it almost impossible to seek support. If you find yourself struggling financially or otherwise, know there are many resources here at K-State to help.
Food and Hygiene Assistance: Campus Food Pantry- Cat’s Cupboard
Unexpected, Temporary Financial Obstacles: K-State Emergency Aid
Trouble Understanding Financial Aid: Set up an appointment with your Financial Aid Advisor
Managing Your Finances: Financial Counseling- Powercat Financial (We’re always here to help! We offer presentations and one-on-one appointments.)
A list with links to many additional resources: Student Guide to Help and Resources: One Stop Shot
Office of Student Financial Assistance (SFA)
SFA spearheads K-State’s financial aid. They are the ones to go to if you have questions about obtaining student loans, cost of attendance, or financial aid questions in general. Additionally, there are three key things to know about them.
- They are swamped the 3 weeks before and after a semester starts, so try to contact them as soon as you know you need to. Typically phone calls are handled quicker than emails but it is always best to just walk in to see them in 119 Anderson Hall. Their email is finaid@ksu.edu and phone number is 532-6420.
- If you know a scholarship or other financial aid payment will arrive after your bill is due, contact them. They may be able to extend your bill due date and help you avoid a late fee.
- If you find you took out you took too much or little of the federal student loan offered to you, contact them as they may be able to manually adjust those amounts or even reoffer those loans if you had previously declined them. (At Powercat Financial, we can help you better understand how much you need for the semester/ year and create a budget to help you be intentional about your spending).
*Several students may have been surprised by a refund or seen an award called HEERFA 3 reflected on their accounts in the last week. Following is more information on the HEERFA 3 Block Grant. Eligible students with exceptional financial need as determined by their Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and enrollment status are being issued these funds and they are being sent out as refunds to a student’s direct deposit or a mailed check to their “local” KSIS address. If you want more information on HEERFA 3, see https://www.k-state.edu/today/announcement/?id=76439.
K-State Cashiers and Student Accounts
The Cashiers office handles a wide variety of topics: tuition and fee billing, payment options, refund distribution, receipt letters (typically asked for by scholarships) and 1098-T tax forms. The most important thing to understand about them is that they cannot change any fees and will most likely direct you to other departments if there is an issue with your charges. Here are 3 other important pieces of information:
- Set up Direct Deposit in KSIS, so you never have to worry about a refund getting sent to a wrong address, get it quicker 2-3 days vs. 1 week+, and do not have to worry about cashing it. Instructions can be found at https://www.k-state.edu/finsvcs/cashiers/refunds/eft/.
- If you ever want your parent or someone else to talk to the university about your account/ student records, you need to set up designated access so the university can speak to them about you. For more information on your bill, designated access, etc., see the many helpful links at https://www.k-state.edu/finsvcs/cashiers/billing/.
- If you need a receipt letter, know that it takes 1-2+ weeks at the beginning of the semester and plan accordingly.
Powercat Financial
Where does Powercat Financial fit in? We work to help students holistically (as a whole person) understand and develop you finances, so you can be successful in all aspects of your life. As part of that mission of financial and overall personal wellness, we help students understand and connect with resources that help them navigate college as well as meet their needs.
Free tip: Set up an appointment with Powercat Financial today to help you set yourself up for financial success by helping you understand your student loans, find out how much you need for college, budget, etc. Also check out YOU.KSU.EDU for additional personal well-being help.
Powercat Financial is available for online or phone financial counseling sessions which may be requested via our website link at www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial.
This week through September 12th we have our annual GET ON THE MONEY online scavenger hunt (https://tinyurl.com/KSUGetOnTheMoney) where 5 students can win gift cards from $50-$200 with answers found at our website. This Friday (9/3) POP UP TO PF is happening at our office in Union 302 (third floor) which is a day when students can simply walk-in without an appointment to ask a quick money question and get a free pop.
Ana Sanko
Peer Counselor III
Powercat Financial
302 K-State Student Union, Third Floor
918 N. 17th Street
Manhattan, KS 66506-2800
785.532.2889
www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial
