NDSU’s Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Matt Sanchez, is here to answer these questions. As the director of FAS, Matt Sanchez has two main roles.  The first role is to be an advocate for students. Whether in his own department or working across departments, Sanchez pushes forth ideas and implements strategies to maximize financial aid options for NDSU students while minimizing educational costs. The role of all Financial Aid and Scholarship’s members is to educate parents and students on their financial aid options. His second role is as a financial aid administrator. He is responsible for appropriately managing the millions of dollars of financial aid funds that NDSU receives.

Students often find themselves struggling to afford their educational costs (tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, or other educational costs). These students can reach out to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office for assistance. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office tries to use grants, scholarships, work-study, student loans, and emergency funds to help our students with their financial challenges. Students should also reach out when they (or their families) experience a significant change in their financial situation. A significant change could include experiencing high medical expenses or having a parent who recently lost their job or saw a substantial reduction in income. Students can reach out to any of the Financial Aid and Scholarships staff by phone or email. Students can also get most of their financial aid questions answered through One Stop.

Sanchez advises students to plan things out in advance. Things like completing the FASFA early can reduce potential problems that may arise by delaying it. He also advises students to approach challenges with a positive approach and not let difficulties overwhelm them.

Check out our previous post in this series.

Helpful People Across NDSU Campus - Megan Talcott
Helpful People Across NDSU Campus - Brad Jones
Helpful People Across NDSU Campus - Hannah Prigge

About the Author:

Azam Awan serves as the Marketing Graduate Assistant at NDSU’s Office of Teaching and Learning. Along with that he is also a graduate student at NDSU pursuing Masters in Business Analytics.