Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FASFA) gives out more than $150 billion to students each year and has helped students find a way to finance their education since 1962.

Casie Triche, director of financial aid, and Brandi St. Pierre, assistant director of financial aid and University Scholarships, said that even though Nicholls only has about 7,000 students, approximately 9,000 students a year apply for some type of financial aid with FAFSA every year with Nicholls’ name on the application and close to 3,000 of those receive Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS.)

Unsubsidized student loans act similarly to bank loans and must be paid back with interest, while subsidized loans only require the same amount that was given to be paid back. Grants are government-issued money that do not require repayment. Scholarships, including TOPS, are similar to grants, in that they do not have to be repaid, but have different qualifications that need to be met.

Triche said that she gives the same advice to students every year.

“Students should go to fill out the applications early and get it done as soon as it is possible,” Triche said.

The Financial Aid Office at Nicholls pushes emails, flyers and notices to every student all year round in hopes of awarding every student with TOPS, grants or scholarships.

The number of students who apply for and receive TOPS is higher than ever before. TOPS is a great way for students to go to college right after high school, where the education is affordable.

Nearly every scholarship is awarded at Nicholls. Each scholarship is pushed, and the school wants every one of them to be awarded to students. Only a few are not awarded to anyone because they require some type of work or project to be submitted as well.

Scholarships always require some qualifications to be met, such as The Rockefeller State Wildlife Scholarship. FAFSA awards additional money to a student that is pursuing a degree in forestry, wildlife or marine science.

Vincent Sbisa, a junior Secondary Education major from Metairie, said that he uses government grants and loans to pay for his college tuition.

When students cannot separate their debts from their education, that’s when the school starts to see a decline in attendance, but Sbisa said that the student loan debt does not affect his education or time at Nicholls, but it does afford him down time away from school.

“The trouble that students have with student loans is paying them off in the period after graduation,” Sbisa said. “For students that need and use it, financial aid is great. It’s definitely a good thing when used correctly.”

Sbisa said that the Financial Aid Department at Nicholls does a great job at supplying the resources, but not at explaining them. He had to do all of the work himself.

“Without the financial aid, I would not be going to school. Because of FAFSA, so many students can go to college that would not have the opportunity without it,” Sbisa said.